Security sources have confirmed that Sajid and Naveed Akram, the father-son terrorists who killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on Sunday, had traveled to the Philippines to receive “military-style training” just weeks before the attack, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reports.
The revelation followed an ABC report that 24-year-old Naveed Akram maintained longstanding ties to figures in Australia’s pro-Islamic State (ISIS) network, including notorious jihadist preacher Wisam Haddad and convicted IS youth recruiter Youssef Uweinat.
Through his lawyer, Haddad stated that he “vehemently denies any knowledge of or involvement in the shootings that took place at Bondi Beach.”
Investigators are now examining whether the Akrams were part of a broader international jihadist network after discovering the pair had traveled to Manila in early November, according to officials briefed on the inquiry quoted by ABC.
A senior counter-terrorism official said Naveed and Sajid Akram subsequently traveled to the southern Philippines, where they underwent training. The pair returned to Australia in late November, only weeks before Sunday’s massacre, the official said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the network earlier that Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, ASIO, found “no evidence” during its six-month investigation that either Sajid or Naveed Akram had been radicalized. Neither was on a terrorism watchlist prior to the attack, and Sajid Akram, a licensed gun owner, was not barred from legally accessing firearms.
The British Telegraph, meanwhile, reported that Israeli intelligence officials believe that the massacre in Sydney was carried out by a foreign terrorist cell supported by Iran.
According to the report, the manner in which the attack was carried out indicates a link to characteristics identified with a unit of the terrorist organization Hezbollah - the operational arm for attacks outside Lebanon. Israel is also examining possible links to Hamas and other terrorist organizations.