Bondi terror suspects were propelled by 'Islamic State ideology' and traveled to extremist hotbed

The father and son duo suspected of carrying out a massacre at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach on Sunday were "driven by Islamic State ideology," Australian authorities confirmed Tuesday.

The revelation comes as Philippine officials revealed the pair recently traveled to a southern island that has long served as a stronghold for extremist groups.

The suspects have been identified as 50-year-old Sajid Akram, who was killed in a shootout with police, and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram, who remains in critical but stable condition at a Sydney hospital under heavy police guard.

The Sunday evening attack targeted a "Chanukah by the Sea" celebration and claimed the lives of 15 people including a 10-year-old girl named Matilda, two dedicated rabbis, and 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman marking Australia's deadliest mass shooting in nearly 30 years.

Witnesses described a scene of pure terror as the gunmen opened fire from a pedestrian bridge near Campbell Parade, catching tourists and families in the crossfire.

A civilian hero named Ahmed has been credited with tackling and disarming one of the shooters, providing a critical window for police to intervene and neutralize the threat.

A central focus of the investigation is a nearly month-long trip the pair took to the Philippines in November 2025.

Philippine Bureau of Immigration records show the Akrams arrived together on November 1 and departed for Sydney on November 28, listing their final destination as Davao on the southern island of Mindanao.

This region is a known "hotbed" for Islamist insurgencies and is home to groups like Abu Sayyaf and "Islamic State East Asia" (ISEA).

Australian counterterrorism officials, as reported by the ABC, believe the pair may have undergone "military-style training" during their stay.

This theory is supported by social media footage of the attack, which showed Naveed Akram demonstrating high proficiency with a bolt-action rifle, firing off four rounds in just over five seconds.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed the nation on Tuesday, characterizing the attack as a "radical perversion of Islam" and an act of "pure evil." Investigators recovered two homemade ISIS flags and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from a vehicle registered to the younger suspect, yet they currently believe the pair acted as a "lone cell" rather than as part of a wider network.

This stealth allowed them to evade detection, despite Naveed having been investigated by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) for six months in 2019. That probe concluded at the time that there was no evidence of radicalization, a finding that is now being intensely scrutinized.

The security profile is further complicated by the fact that Sajid Akram was a licensed gun owner who legally possessed six firearms, including the long-arm rifles used in the massacre.

Sajid, who immigrated from India in 1998 and ran a fruit shop in Bonnyrigg, had been a member of a local hunting club.

Prime Minister Albanese has since pledged a major review of national gun laws, emphasizing that licenses should not be granted in perpetuity given how quickly ideologies can shift toward extremism. As Naveed Akram awaits formal charges,

Bondi Beach has transformed into a massive memorial where thousands have gathered to mourn the 15 lives lost to what authorities have deemed a calculated act of antisemitic terrorism.