Alleged Bondi shooters Sajid and Naveed Akram spent 28 days in the Philippines just last month.
Immigration records show the pair flew from Sydney to the capital Manila and then to Davao City in the southern Philippines, arriving on 1 November. Davao is about 200km by road from known hotspots for groups with with links to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group. There are reports the pair underwent “military style training” in the southern Philippines, possibly near the city of Marawi.
In 2017, IS group-inspired militants laid siege to Marawi for five months with the aim of making it the capital for the IS group in South East Asia. The city was eventually liberated by the Philippine army, with the help of Australia and the US, but Dr Levi West, a terrorism expert from the Australian National University, says the presence of militants there has not disappeared.
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos says there is “no evidence” the alleged Bondi gunmen undertook “terrorist training” during their visit to the country last month.
Marcos also “strongly rejected” what he called the misleading characterisation of the Philippines as a militant training hotspot.
Australian authorities have labelled the deadly Bondi shooting “IS-inspired.”
Police investigating the Bondi Beach shooting allegedly found two IS group flags inside the car the father and son shooters drove to Bondi in, along with improvised explosives.
Naveed Akram, 24, was investigated by Australia’s domestic intelligence agency six years ago but neither he nor his father were under surveillance at the time they travelled to the Philippines.
West said if the duo trained at a militant camp there for four weeks, it would suggest they had strong links to the IS group.
And SBS has contacted the Australian Border Force, confirming it’s received our inquiry but yet to provide a response to our questions.
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