Sydney: Australian police revealed on Tuesday that the two gunmen accused of the Hanukkah shooting at Bondi Beach, which killed 15 people, traveled to the Philippines before the attack and appear to have been motivated by the extremist Muslim militant group, the Islamic State.
According to Thai News Agency, Sunday’s attack was the worst mass shooting in Australia in nearly 30 years, and police are investigating whether it was a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community. The death toll stands at 16, including 50-year-old Sajid Akkaram, one of the gunmen, who was shot dead by police. His 24-year-old son, Naveed Akkaram, is being accused of being an accomplice and is in critical condition at the hospital after being shot as well.
Australian police also said that the car, registered to the son, contained an improvised explosive device and two handmade flags associated with the Islamic State (ISIS), an armed group that Australia and other countries have identified as a terrorist organization. Police also revealed that the two men traveled to the Philippines last month, and the purpose of their trip is currently under investigation. It is known that networks linked to the Islamic State operate in the Philippines and have influence in the southern Philippines, although their presence has diminished to smaller groups on the island of Mindanao in recent years.
The Philippine Immigration Bureau confirmed on Tuesday that the two suspects traveled to the Philippines on November 1st on a Philippine Airlines flight from Sydney to Manila, and then on to Davao City. A spokesperson for the agency said that Sajid Akraam, 50, an Indian national and Australian resident, traveled with an Indian passport, while Naveed Akraam, 24, an Australian national, used an Australian passport. Both arrived together on that flight and subsequently departed the Philippines on November 28th from Davao City via Manila, returning to Sydney, just weeks before the attack that killed 15 people.
It remains unclear at this time what they did in the Philippines, or whether they traveled elsewhere, after arriving in Davao City, in Mindanao province, in southern the Philippines.