THE evil father and son who carried out the Bondi Beach massacre that left 15 dead spent a month in an “ISIS training hotspot” before the bloodbath.
Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed, 24, allegedly travelled to the Philippines, one of the world’s biggest extremist hives, to prepare for the attack.
A major probe has now been launched into the pair’s activity while visiting the South East Asian nation, which is infamous for hosting ISIS training camps.
Police sources told The Daily Telegraph: “There’s areas down there that are very dangerous… [with] training camps and the like.
“It has become a well trodden path for Islamic State through South East Asia and into the Philippines ever since 2019.”
Early intelligence suggests the Akrams allegedly “self-radicalised”, but investigators are probing whether overseas contacts may have recently hardened their views.
Read more about the attack
The Philippines ranked last year as the world’s 20th most dangerous country on the Global Terrorism Index, recording 22 terror attacks in 2024.
It comes as…
Australia, meanwhile, was listed among nations experiencing a “sharp increase in antisemitic violence and hate crimes.”
The Akrams returned to Australia just weeks before they allegedly opened fire on a Jewish gathering of about 1,000 people. Police then arrived, shooting Sajid dead and critically wounding Naveed.
Authorities raided the homes of known associates on Monday afternoon under Operation Arques.
Sources said Naveed had previously been assessed as a “low level” counter terrorism risk after appearing on the “periphery” of an investigation in October 2019.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Naveed had come to ASIO’s attention at the time, but only because of his associations.
He said: “The son was examined on the basis of being associated with others and the assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or him engaging in violence.”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Sajid arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa and switched to a partner visa in 2001, while Naveed was Australian born.
Police allegedly found an Islamic State-linked flag inside a small silver Hyundai used to drive to Bondi Beach.
Investigators are also examining the pair’s movements closer to home, including a sharehouse they recently rented in Campsie.
Police believe the $90 (£67) a night property was used as a base for the attack.
That address, along with the family home in Bonnyrigg, was stormed by heavily armed tactical police late Sunday night and into Monday morning.
Sajid was a licensed gun owner who held six firearms, all now seized from the Bondi crime scene and the Campsie property.
He obtained his licence in 2015 and renewed it in 2020.
Images circulating online showed Naveed’s wallet containing a membership card for the Zastava Hunting Association, a gun club near their Bonnyrigg home.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon ruled out a third suspect, saying social media footage caused confusion.
He said there had been no intelligence suggesting an attack was imminent.
“There was no indication that either of the men involved in yesterday’s attack was planning the attack that happened yesterday,” he added.
“We’ve got investigators that have been working around the clock. I’m incredibly proud of the work that has been undertaken so far.
“We want to get to the bottom of this.
“We want to understand the motives behind it. We certainly want to understand the actions that have happened.
“We want to understand whether these people were further involved in any offences, but we have no history to say that’s the case.”
Premier Chris Minns said gun law reform was “almost certain” following Australia’s worst mass shooting since Port Arthur in 1996.
“We’re in the early stages of this investigation. NSW Police need to provide all the details of this inquiry to the government, but I made it clear that we’ll take every step possible to keep our community safe, and we’ll be looking at law reform along that route,” he added.
Police moved swiftly after the attack, raiding the Bonnyrigg family home late Sunday before turning their attention to the Campsie Airbnb hours later.
A neighbour said he was jolted awake around 12.30am by police using a megaphone ordering anyone inside to come out.
“It’s so freaky to think, we were watching the events unfold at Bondi, and then a couple of hours later there are police outside our house,” he said.
“This is going to change Australia forever.”
Politicians must wake up to threat
by Noa Hoffman
THE Jewish community in Sydney lives peacefully among the sand and sea.
They work hard, spend weekends surfing, jogging along the golden crescent coastline, and slurp green smoothies under the blazing sun – like every other Bondi Aussie.
They chill on the beach, and every year at Chanukah they eat jam doughnuts and light a menorah.
I know this all too well because the eastern suburbs of Sydney are where I grew up – my life before moving to the UK.
Bondi is home to Sydney’s vibrant Jewish community, including my grandmother, sister, aunts and many cousins.
In a tragic turn, the beautiful beach life I enjoyed until 19 is no more.
Sydney’s small, quiet Jewish community, like Britain’s, now finds itself at the mercy of Islamist extremists.
These vile radicals – who do not represent mainstream Muslims – have been left to fester, almost unchecked, in closed-off pockets that refuse to integrate with wider society.
They’re aided and abetted by woke lefties who are obsessed with Israel.
Most dangerously, they’re wilfully ignored by MPs who enjoy the votes that come with appeasing them.
The result of politicians in Australia and Britain turning a blind eye to these dangerous extremists is death.
Death that struck at the Heaton Park Synagogue on Yom Kippur, in my adopted home of England.
And death in my birthplace this Chanukah, at a joyful party by the Sydney sea.
Thankfully my family in Bondi are all ok – but they are also distraught with fear.
Until politicians, particularly Labour, wake up to this threat, more of these grim days will unfold.
Leave a sick, twisted ideology like extremist Islamism to rot, and consequences follow.
For some Labour MPs that may mean more votes – but for my deeply patriotic, quiet community, who just want to get on with life, it means murder.
I hope politicians choose the right path.
