Sydney Shooting: ISIS Link Suspected in Deadly Bondi Beach Attack
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, Australian security services had previously monitored Navid Akram, one of the attackers in Sunday’s assault on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, for his close ties to an ISIS terror cell based in the city.
Navid Akram, 24, and his father, Sajid Akram, 50, opened fire on participants at the Jewish festival held at Bondi Beach on Sunday. Sajid Akram was killed in an exchange of fire with police, while the injured Navid Akram was taken to a hospital.
Police forces raided their home in Bonnyrigg, southwest of Sydney, on Sunday evening.
Investigators from the Australian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, comprising federal and state forces, believe the attackers pledged allegiance to ISIS. Senior Australian officials reported that two ISIS flags were discovered in their vehicle parked at Bondi Beach, with one flag visible on the hood of the car in recorded footage from the scene.
A senior official from the Australian Joint Counter Terrorism Team stated that security services had been monitoring Navid Akram for six years, following the disruption of an ISIS terror plot. According to information obtained by ABC, Australian security services began monitoring Navid Akram in 2019, shortly after the arrest of Ishaq Mattari, an ISIS member.
The Australian official noted Navid Akram’s close association with Mattari. Ishaq Mattari, a self-proclaimed ISIS commander in Australia, is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for planning operations within the country. He was a member of an ISIS cell in Sydney, with whom Navid Akram reportedly had close ties.
Mike Burgess, a senior Australian security official, said on Sunday that one of the attackers was known to the organization. He stated, “One of these individuals was known to us, but not as an immediate threat.”
