The father and son behind the Sydney mass shooting spent November in the Philippines, with the father entering on an Indian passport, authorities confirm.
MANILA: The father and son responsible for one of Australia’s deadliest mass shootings spent nearly all of November in the Philippines.
Immigration authorities in Manila confirmed Sajid Akram and his son Naveed entered the country on November 1.
Sajid Akram, 50, entered using an Indian passport, while his 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian national, travelled with him.
Immigration spokeswoman Dana Sandoval stated their final destination was listed as Davao province on the southern island of Mindanao.
“The left the country on November 28, 2025 on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination,” Sandoval said.
The pair later killed 15 people and wounded dozens at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the two men had likely been radicalised by “Islamic State ideology”.
The Philippine National Security Council stated there was no prior information suggesting the men posed a threat during their visit.
National Security Council spokesman Cornelio Valencia said they were checking reports but had found no confirmation the men trained there.
“We’re acting for our counterparts, so we will check their reports,” Valencia told AFP.
He noted that Islamic militancy is “not such a big problem now” since the degradation of groups following the 2017 Marawi siege.
Pro-Islamic State militants held Marawi City under siege for five months that year.
The battle claimed more than 1,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands before the military reclaimed the city.
A spokesman for the army’s Mindanao-based 6th Infantry Division said they had heard nothing recently about IS-linked training camps or foreigners training with local insurgents. – AFP
