The father-son team accused of slaughtering 15 Jews at an Australian Hanukkah celebration does not appear to be connected to a wider terrorist network, authorities announced Tuesday.
Police found two homemade Islamic State flags in the suspects’ vehicle following the targeted shooting at Bondi Beach, with Australian officials describing the incident as “a terrorist attack inspired by the Islamic State.”
While Sajid and Naveed Akram were linked to the Islamic State group, officials said initial assessments indicate “there is no evidence” they were part of “a broader terrorist cell, or were directed by others to carry out an attack.”
“These individuals are alleged to have acted alone,” Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said during a press conference.
Barrett also addressed the pair’s roughly monthlong trip to the Philippines in November. The trip remains a major focus of the investigation into the antisemitic attack, as parts of the island have historically been known as training grounds for Islamic State and al Qaeda recruits.
Barrett said there was no indication the men had received formal training or “logistical preparation” when they were in Mindanao, in the southern Philippines. Early investigations suggest the suspects “rarely left their hotel,” according to officials.
However, Barrett added a disclaimer, saying “I am not suggesting that they were there [in the Philippines] for tourism.”
Australian authorities are “currently reviewing” CCTV footage tracking the alleged gunmen’s movements in the Philippines, she said.
The Islamic State group is a radical organization that has been linked to violent attacks across the world, including an attack on U.S. troops in Syria earlier this month that killed two soldiers and a New Year’s Day incident that killed 14 people in New Orleans.
BONDI BEACH MASS SHOOTING SUSPECT CHARGED WITH COMMITTING TERRORIST ACT
President Donald Trump recently announced that he authorized deadly military strikes against Islamic State forces operating in Nigeria, accusing them of targeting Christians.
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social message posted on Christmas Day. “The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.”
