Australia: Bondi Attack Driven by "ISIS" Ideology

SadaNews - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that the armed attack targeting a crowd celebrating the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah on Bondi Beach in Sydney, which resulted in the deaths of 15 people, was driven by the ideology of the "ISIS" organization.

Albanese explained that preliminary investigations indicate that the attackers, Sajid Akram (50 years old) and his son Navid (24 years old), were recruited before carrying out what he described as a "massacre," adding that this extremist ideology, which has spread over more than a decade, has fueled hatred and in this case led to a willingness to engage in mass murder.

Australian authorities described the attack, which occurred on Sunday evening during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration, as an anti-Semitic terrorist act, without previously disclosing detailed information about the motives.

Albanese's statement is the first official indication of an extremist ideological background behind the assault.

The Prime Minister revealed that Navid Akram had drawn the attention of the Australian intelligence agency in 2019 due to his connections with other individuals, but he was not classified at that time as an imminent threat, despite being investigated along with family members and acquaintances.

Police are still piecing together the movements of the suspects before the attack, including their travel to the Philippines during November.

The Manila immigration department confirmed that the father entered the country as an Indian citizen, accompanied by his Australian citizen son, and they stayed there for nearly a month before departing on the 28th of the same month. Investigations suggest they may have encountered extremist elements during that trip.

According to the data, the father and son fired at the crowd for about 10 minutes, before police killed Sajid Akram, while Navid was injured and taken to the hospital, where he remains in a coma.

The vehicle used in the attack was found to contain two "ISIS" flags and explosives, and the vehicle was registered in the son's name.

The attack, which saw among its victims a 10-year-old girl, a Holocaust survivor, and a rabbi, sparked widespread outrage and calls for stricter gun control laws in the country.

Australian leaders agreed to review the laws that allowed the father to possess six firearms, at a time when Australia rarely experiences mass shooting incidents since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

In parallel, criticisms regarding the rise of anti-Semitism in Australia were reignited, with accusations against the government for failing to protect the Jewish community. In a show of solidarity, thousands of Australians lined up to donate blood, setting a national record.

Syrian fruit seller Ahmad Al-Ahmad, who risked his life to disarm one of the attackers, received widespread official praise, with the Prime Minister describing him as an example of courage and an inspiration for all Australians.