A senior counter-terrorism official has disclosed that the father and son accused of carrying out the deadly shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration in Bondi allegedly underwent military-style training overseas just weeks before the attack.
Philippines Training and Jihadist Network Probe
The official, speaking anonymously to the ABC, stated that Naveed Akram, 24, and his father Sajid Akram reportedly travelled to the Philippines in November. This region has been a hotspot for Islamist militants since the early 1990s, when terrorist training camps shifted from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to southern Mindanao.
Southern Philippines has long been under the influence of the violent Abu Sayyaf group and served as a key training base for Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiah, the organisation responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Investigators are now examining the Akrams' connections to an international jihadist network after discovering the pair flew from Davao to Manila before returning to Sydney on November 28.
Links to Australian IS Network and Prior ASIO Scrutiny
It has been revealed that Naveed Akram had longstanding associations with members of Australia's pro-Islamic State network. These links include notorious jihadist spiritual leader Wisam Haddad and convicted IS youth recruiter Youssef Uweinat. Through a lawyer, Mr Haddad has vehemently denied any knowledge of or involvement in the Bondi Beach shootings.
Naveed Akram was previously on the radar of Australia's national spy agency, ASIO, following the arrest of a Sydney-based Islamic State terrorist in July 2019. A six-month investigation at that time found no evidence he had been radicalised. However, investigators now suspect both father and son pledged allegiance to IS before launching the attack.
A senior JCTT official confirmed an IS-style flag was found in their car. ASIO's interest in Naveed dates back to the July 2019 arrest of Isaak El Matari, identified as an IS operative. El Matari is serving a seven-year prison sentence for planning an insurgency. Sources indicate Naveed maintained close connections with El Matari and other convicted members of the IS cell.
The Attack and Aftermath
Police allege that on Sunday night, Naveed and Sajid Akram stood on a footbridge connecting Campbell Parade to Bondi Pavilion and fired shots into a crowd celebrating the first day of Hanukkah. Fifteen innocent people were killed in what is now Australia's second-worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.
Naveed Akram remains in hospital under police guard and is likely to face criminal charges, while his father was shot dead by police at the scene.
Disturbing footage has also emerged showing a 17-year-old Naveed preaching radical Islam on Sydney's streets six years ago, urging strict religious observance.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has defended ASIO's earlier investigation, stating on Tuesday that "our agencies could not have done more" and that Naveed had shown no violent ideologies at the time of the initial probe.
