Posted on 12/16/2025 3:40:25 AM PST by DFG
A senior counter-terrorism official has revealed Sajid and Naveed Akram underwent military-style training overseas just weeks before the pair allegedly opened fire at the Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.
The father and son travelled to the Philippines in November, a region that has been a hotspot for Islamist militants since the early 1990s, when terrorist training camps relocated from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to southern Mindanao.
Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, arrived from Sydney on November 1 and left on November 28, a Bureau of Immigration spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday.
Sajid travelled on an Indian passport while Naveed used his Australian passport.
The southern Philippines has long been controlled by Abu Sayyaf, a violent group known for bombings, assassinations, extortion, and kidnappings for ransom.
For years, it was also a main training base for Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiah, the group behind the Bali bombings that killed 202 people including 88 Australians.
In January, the Australian government provided Philippine law enforcement agencies in Mindanao with new facilities, including a bomb data centre and forensic explosives laboratory to combat terrorism and improve security.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official told the ABC that investigators are now probing the Akrams' ties to an international jihadist network after discovering the pair flew from Davao to Manila, before flying back to Sydney on November 28.
Earlier reports revealed Naveed Akram, 24, had longstanding links to members of Australia's pro-Islamic State (IS) network, including notorious jihadist spiritual leader Wisam Haddad and convicted IS youth recruiter Youssef Uweinat.
Through a lawyer, Mr Haddad told the ABC he 'vehemently denies any knowledge of or involvement in the shootings that took place at Bondi Beach'.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
The likes of shuck chumer would do better with our money registering those who do us harm in this Country and banning them, not our guns.
So yet another known wolf.
And Aussie political leadership is going to fix the problem by further limitations on firearms ownership. I guess they’ve never heard of a truck of peace.
Kind of like the Oklahoma City bombers
Who funded this Trip .
Their mosque.
They were both unemployed evil Infidel haters .
The family that slays together pays together.
And the Las Vegas shooter.
Indeed, under investigation for ties to known terror groups when they applied for and received licenses to purchase firearms.
Great going, Australia.
Good memory to catch the Oklahoma City connection.
That had .gov written all over it.
< img src="https://i.ibb.co/p6VSBJ2z/isolated-incident-01.png" width=500>
Skip leading space after left bracket - add the width command at around 500 and it'll show up for most full screen but easily viewed. Just FYI.
Don't be mad at me, please. ;-)
Kind of like the Oklahoma City bombers
.....
I knew that sounded familiar.
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