Arya News - Philippine officials said the suspects traveled to Davao in November, but the purpose of their visit remains unclear.
( NewsNation ) — Australian officials said the two suspects accused of the shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach were radicalized by ISIS and traveled to an island in the southern Philippines where the terror group remains active.
Fifteen people were killed, 40 were injured and 22 people remain hospitalized, including three in critical condition, following the attack at the Hanukkah event.
The suspects, Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, had traveled to Davao, a city on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Nov. 1 and left on Nov. 28 for Sydney, a spokesperson for the Philippine Bureau of Immigration told The New York Times . The purpose of their visit remains unclear.
Bondi Beach survivors recount ‘terrifying’ shooting that killed 15
Philippine authorities said they found no evidence that would link the two to any terrorist group or show they received training in the country. Police in Australia, however, found two homemade Islamic State flags and improvised explosive devices in a car belonging to Naveed.
In 2018, the U.S. Department of State formally designated ISIS-Philippines as a foreign terrorist organization. With fewer than 300 members, extremists there have carried out attacks against civilians, religious groups and police carrying out orders using explosives, weapons and suicide vests.
Notable attacks carried out by ISIS-Philippines include a December 2023 bombing at a Catholic church that killed four people and injured dozens more, reported by the BBC, and an August 2020 incident where two suicide bombers attacked military personnel at a shopping area that killed 14 people and wounded dozens more, according to Al Jazeera .
ISIS has also been linked to an attack in Syria this past weekend that killed two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter. President Donald Trump said the U.S. “will retaliate” for the attack.
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