Bondi Beach Attack: Islamic State Ideology And Mindanao Training Under Investigation

Australian police say a father and son accused of the Bondi Beach attack were "driven by Islamic state ideology," with investigators now examining their recent travel to the southern Philippines and how the alleged plot formed. The shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach killed 15 people during a Hanukkah celebration, making it Australia's deadliest mass shooting in almost three decades.

The suspects are 50-year-old Sajid Akram, who died during a gunfight with officers, and 24-year-old Naveed Akram, who is under police guard in hospital and expected to face major terrorism and homicide charges. Authorities say there is no current evidence of other accomplices, and the pair are believed to have acted alone against Jewish Australians gathered for the festival’s first night.

Bondi Beach attack linked to Islamic State ideology and alleged explosives

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the shooting appears to have been inspired by extremist "Islamic State ideology," pointing to items seized from a vehicle registered to the younger suspect. New South Wales police say officers discovered improvised explosive devices and two homemade Islamic State flags in that car, which has become a central piece of the investigation into planning and motive.

Albanese said the presence of the flags showed that the "radical perversion of Islam is absolutely a problem" in Australia and globally. He added that authorities believe the men "weren't part of a wider cell," which may have helped them avoid detection by security agencies before the Bondi Beach attack, despite at least one of them being known to federal intelligence services.

Bondi Beach attack suspects’ past security scrutiny and alleged radicalisation

Officials confirmed that Naveed Akram was investigated by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation in 2019 for six months, "because of his connections with two people who subsequently … went to jail," according to Albanese. That inquiry ended after finding there was "no evidence" of radicalisation, and Naveed was not placed under continued surveillance following the closure of the case.

Authorities are now reviewing that earlier assessment and examining "whether he was radicalized further after that," Albanese said. During the 2019 inquiry, investigators also interviewed Sajid, a licensed gun owner, but Albanese said there was "no indication of any radicalization," and Albanese added that Albanese did not know whether officials closely checked Sajid’s access to firearms at that time.

Bondi Beach attack and alleged training trip to the Philippines

Investigators are focusing on the Akrams’ recent journey to the Philippines, which Australian counterterrorism officials believe included military-style training in the south of the country. Public broadcaster ABC reported that authorities suspect the pair undertook such training in the Mindanao region last month, an area long associated with Islamist armed groups and violent extremism.

New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon said, "The reasons why they went to the Philippines and the purpose of that and where they went when they were there is under investigation at the moment," stressing that the trip is now a major part of the Bondi Beach attack inquiry. Lanyon also said no security alerts were triggered when the two travelled and added, "I don't believe it was an intelligence failure at all," pointing to limited prior warning signs.

Philippine immigration officials confirmed to CNN that Sajid and Naveed arrived together on 1 November 2025, listing Davao, on the southern island of Mindanao, as their final stop. Records show they departed the Philippines from Manila on 28 November, giving them nearly four weeks in a region where several insurgent organisations operate and where foreign fighters have travelled in the past.

Bondi Beach attack context: Mindanao militancy and ISEA threat

Mindanao, the Philippines’ second-largest island, has long faced conflict, bombings and kidnappings by Islamist armed groups. These include Abu Sayyaf, accused of attacking civilians and troops and abducting foreign nationals, and the Maute group, with both groups involved in the 2017 siege of Marawi, the country’s largest Muslim-majority city, which displaced more than 350,000 residents.

ASIO describes the Philippines as a focus area for Islamic State East Asia, an offshoot of the main Islamic State organisation. ASIO’s website states: "ISEA remains a deadly terrorist threat in the Philippines, with the Southeast Asia country a target destination for foreign terrorist fighters," and also notes: "While there are no known links between ISEA and Australia, there have previously been links between Australians and terrorist groups in the Philippines."

Bondi Beach attack suspects’ weapons, gun licence and seized firearms

After the Bondi Beach attack, police seized six firearms registered to Sajid, who held a gun licence and what officers called a "recreational hunting license." Lanyon said Sajid "met the eligibility criteria for a firearms license" and held a licence connected to a "gun club," explaining this was one of two types of hunting permissions available in New South Wales.

Lanyon detailed Sajid’s licensing history, explaining that Sajid first applied for a firearms licence in 2015 but allowed the application to lapse in 2016 after failing to provide a required photograph. Sajid then applied again in 2020, and the licence was granted in 2023. "The firearms that we have seized were attached to that license appropriately," Lanyon said, adding that some weapons were recovered from the family home and a short-term rental.

Some of Sajid’s guns were discovered at the Bonnyrigg property linked to the family, while others were recovered from an Airbnb in Campsie, where the pair reportedly stayed in the days before the Bondi Beach attack. Video verified by CNN shows Naveed firing four rounds from a bolt-action rifle in just over five seconds from a pedestrian bridge overlooking Bondi Beach, indicating familiarity with the weapon.

Bondi Beach attack suspects’ background, immigration history and passports

The Akrams are believed to have lived in Bonnyrigg in western Sydney, where police carried out a search on Monday at a residence tied to the family. Local media report that Naveed previously worked as a bricklayer, while Sajid ran a fruit shop, painting a picture of a family embedded in everyday suburban life before the alleged Bondi Beach attack.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Naveed was born in Australia, while Sajid migrated in 1998 on a student visa and switched to a partner visa in 2001. Since then, Sajid took only three international trips, each time returning on a resident return visa. Officials have not publicly disclosed Sajid’s country of origin, with Albanese saying the detail was "part of the investigation … So, I can't go into that detail."

The Philippines Bureau of Immigration confirmed that Sajid travelled using an Indian passport and Naveed on an Australian passport for their November trip. CNN has requested comment from India’s Ministry of External Affairs. Australian officials say questions about any further overseas links remain open, as investigators map movements and contacts linked to the Bondi Beach attack.

Religious teaching, antisemitism and Islamic State references around the Bondi Beach attack

An imam who previously taught Naveed said the 24-year-old attended the Al Murad Institute in 2019 for Quran recitation and Arabic lessons, continuing for about a year. Sheikh Adam Ismail told CNN in a video message, "I condemn this act of violence without any hesitation," stressing that religious study does not guarantee understanding or ethical behaviour.

Sheikh Adam added, "Not everyone who recites the Quran understands it or lives by its teachings, and sadly, this appears to be the case here," distancing the institute from the Bondi Beach attack. Albanese also addressed antisemitism and the ideological framing of the shooting, saying, "Antisemitism, of course, has been around for a very long period of time – that's the point. Islamic State is an ideology that, tragically, over the last decade, particularly since 2015, has led to a radicalization of some people to this extreme position, and it is a hateful action."

As the Bondi Beach attack investigation continues, police and intelligence agencies are piecing together the Akrams’ path from ordinary suburban lives to alleged extremist violence, including past security checks, firearm access and the month-long trip to Mindanao. Authorities maintain there is no sign of a broader cell, but they are still mapping possible influences, contacts and training that may explain how the deadly attack unfolded.