Bondi beach attack: Gunmen, one of them with Indian passport, travelled to Philippines, claim officials

Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval told the BBC that the pair declared the southern city of Davao as their final destination and booked return flights to Sydney.

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“Sajid Akram, 50, travelled using an Indian passport, while his son, Naveed, 24, used an Australian passport,” Sandoval said.

Islamic state-linked networks are known to operate in the Philippines and have wielded some influence in the south of the country. They have been reduced to weakened cells operating in the southern Mindanao island in recent years, far from the scale of influence they wielded during the 2017 Marawi siege.

“Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State, allegedly committed by a father and son,” Reuters quoted Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett as saying at a news conference.

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Police also said the vehicle which is registered to the younger male contained improvised explosive devices and two homemade flags associated with ISIS, or Islamic State, a militant group designated by Australia and many other countries as a terrorist organisation.

The father and son allegedly fired upon hundreds of people at the festival during a roughly 10-minute killing spree at one of Australia’s top tourist destinations, forcing people to flee and take shelter before both were shot by police.

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Videos have emerged of the younger shooter preaching Islam outside train stations in suburban Sydney. Authorities are still trying to piece together how he went down the path of violence.
“These are the alleged actions of those who have aligned themselves with a terrorist organisation, not a religion.”

The Philippine military said it could not immediately confirm earlier reports that the two men may have received any form of military-style training during their stay.