The massacre on Australia’s Bondi beach had roots in the Philippines, where father and son were before shooting at the population in Sydney
At a time when Australian authorities are trying to retrace the steps and understand the motivations of the Bondi Beach shooters who killed 15 people, a key point has emerged: their trip to the Philippines shortly before the attack.
According to authorities, father-son duo Sajid and Naveed Akram traveled to the southern part of the archipelago, which has a painful history of Islamic extremism.
They remained in the country for almost a month and, two weeks after leaving, carried out the massacre on the famous Sydney beach, targeting a Jewish celebration, in what was the worst mass shooting in Australia in decades. Later, homemade Islamic State flags were found in the car they used.
There is a lot that is still unclear. Authorities did not provide further details about where they went in the Philippines during their trip, what they were doing and whether the trip was directly related to the attack.
“The reasons why they went to the Philippines and the purpose of that trip and where they went while they were there are being investigated at this time,” New South Wales police said, adding that the pair had not triggered any security alerts during their trip.
The son had already been vetted by Australia’s internal security agency six years ago due to his close ties to a Sydney-based Islamic State (IS) terrorist cell, but was not considered a threat.
However, Australian counter-terrorism authorities believe the men underwent military training while in the Philippines, public broadcaster ABC reported.
Experts tell CNN that while terrorism in the Philippines has declined in recent years, many Islamic militant groups remain active and armed in more remote regions — and are willing to train foreign fighters who have long flocked to the Southeast Asian nation.
“Since the times of Al-Qaeda, the Philippines has always been considered the terrorism academy in Asia, because its location and existing militant groups provide an environment conducive to training activities,” says Rommel Banlaoi, president of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research.
The Philippine government also said it is in contact with its Australian law enforcement counterparts.
“We reaffirm our support for efforts that protect communities from intolerance, hatred and violence”, wrote the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Theresa P. Lazaro, in X, after speaking with her Australian counterpart.
Philippine National Security Advisor Eduardo Ano said no evidence had yet emerged in the investigation into whether the suspected shooters had trained with Filipino militants, The Associated Press reported. “There is no indicator or information that they were trained” in Mindanao, Ano said.
Meanwhile, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Júnior’s spokeswoman, Claire Castro, said the leader rejected “the misleading characterization of the Philippines as an ISIS training point.”
Where are these extremists based?
Militant groups have been active in the southern Philippines for decades and attracted foreign nationals to join the cause even before the 9/11 attack in New York, explains Banlaoi.
The Philippine group Abu Sayyaf was an early ally of al-Qaeda, but in recent years many militant groups have begun to more openly declare their allegiance to or align themselves with IS – a trend that has been repeated across much of the world.
Various groups came together under the generic name ISEA – Islamic State of East Asia. In 2017, the Islamic State even published a video calling on its fighters to travel to the Philippines instead of Iraq and Syria, according to the Australian national security agency ASIO.
Most terrorist activity is concentrated on the southern island of Mindanao, which – unlike the rest of the mostly Catholic nation – has a majority Muslim population.
For decades, Mindanao has been wracked by unrest and conflict, including clashes between authorities and a local separatist movement, with widespread allegations of human rights violations by all parties.
“Many people felt excluded and offended,” says Greg Barton, professor of Global Islamic Politics at Deakin University. Mindanao’s Muslim minority “has been in the region for a long time – Islam came to them before Catholicism reached the rest of the Philippines.”
These activities are not just limited to jungles – they also exist in urban areas.
The coastal city of Davao, which the Bondi suspects indicated as their final destination, “has always been the preferred destination for foreign terrorist fighters,” says Banlaoi. “Davao City is not so much a target as a meeting point, a center for planning, financing and logistics.”
It remains unclear whether the Akrams traveled outside of Davao.
Why the Philippines?
In 2017, militant groups made a public show of force that caught many off guard when the Abu Sayyaf and Maute groups – the latter of which had declared allegiance to IS – captured and occupied Marawi, the country’s largest Muslim-majority city.
The violence forced more than 350,000 residents to flee the city and surrounding areas before Philippine forces liberated it after a bloody, months-long siege.
There are a few reasons why the Philippines — and Mindanao in particular — has become a hotbed for extremism.
On the one hand, the country has historically “struggled to have good governance. It didn’t have democracy until relatively recently… economic growth wasn’t stable and wasn’t well distributed,” adds Barton. Compared to neighboring countries like Malaysia, “Mindanau was much more of a wild frontier zone.”
The densely forested mountains and coastal environment also allow militant groups to set up camps, train fighters and organize supplies out of sight and in hard-to-reach places.
“It is a safe haven for foreign terrorist fighters because they can easily hide and our law enforcement authorities do not have sufficient capacity to penetrate these areas,” explains Banlaoi.
The country has porous borders and, being an important tourist destination, it is “very receptive to foreigners”, he adds, saying that this makes it easier for people to enter and leave the country – legally or not.
Houses abandoned by their owners due to the conflict, on September 1, 2018, in Datu Piang, Maguindanao, in the southern Philippines (Jes Aznar/Getty Images)
Finally, the fact that there are so many militant groups, which have had decades to establish themselves, makes the Philippines “the preferred destination for foreign fighters, not only from Asia, but also from different parts of the world”, he says.
However, he adds, not just anyone can enter a militant camp; any foreign fighter wishing to receive training will need to have established links with militant groups or extremist networks on the ground.
Australia’s national security agency, ASIO, said in a statement posted on its website that ISEA “exploits poor economic and social conditions in the Philippines, particularly in central Mindanao, to attract members.”
Some local recruits join in hopes of better economic prospects; others share the group’s ideological goals, such as the creation of an Islamic state under sharia law in the southern Philippines, the statement said.
What is the current prevalence of these groups?
These groups have been involved in several violent attacks over the past few decades.
The Abu Sayyaf was particularly known for kidnapping and ransoming foreigners. Following the 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States, Washington worked hard with the Philippine military to put an end to the group’s activities.
Marawi residents return to their homes in what used to be the main battle area during the war, on May 10, 2018, in Marawi, Philippines. (Jes Aznar/Getty Images)
But global terrorism in the Philippines has declined since former President Rodrigo Duterte – currently in the custody of the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity over his “war on drugs” – passed a sweeping anti-terrorism law in 2020.
Previously, only individuals who carried out violent terrorist attacks were prosecuted, says Banlaoi – but the law allowed authorities to also prosecute people who endorsed or promoted violent activities and provided support to militant groups such as funding, shelter or logistical assistance.
The law has made it much more difficult for these groups to receive funding – and many of them are now “running away” and “struggling”, says Banlaoi.
The government also implemented a multi-pronged approach to cracking down on extremism – using local authorities and municipal organizations to carry out community outreach and reduce local support for terrorist groups.
Peace agreements were also negotiated with several militant groups – who agreed to cease violent activities and transition to civilian life in exchange for greater autonomy and self-governance in Mindanao.
These measures have had tangible effects. In the 2025 Global Terrorism Index, the Philippines ranked 20th out of 79 countries on a scale that measures the impact of terrorism. On the other hand, in 2019 – before the law came into force – it ranked 9th.
This does not mean that the danger has disappeared.
Some militant groups that signed peace agreements are still armed, with rogue elements likely to still be active. “The threat of terrorism is not disappearing because there are still armed groups willing to carry out terrorist activities”, concludes Banlaoi.
