By Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Olivia Caisley, Tim Swanston and Daryna Zadvirna, ABC
Naveed Akram, 24, and his father Sajid target people at Bondi Beach on Sunday. Photo: Supplied
Father-son gunmen Sajid and Naveed Akram travelled to the Philippines to receive "military-style training" in the month before they killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, security sources have confirmed.
The revelation comes after the ABC reported Naveed Akram, 24, had longstanding links to members of Australia's pro-Islamic State (IS) network - including to notorious jihadist spiritual leader Wisam Haddad and convicted IS youth recruiter Youssef Uweinat.
Through a lawyer, Haddad has said he "vehemently denies any knowledge of or involvement in the shootings that took place at Bondi Beach".
Investigators are now examining the Akrams' ties to an international jihadist network, after discovering the pair travelled to Manila in early November, according to officials briefed on the investigation.
Naveed and Sajid Akram then journeyed to the southern Philippines and underwent militant training, said a senior counter-terrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Philippines Bureau of Immigration confirmed the pair arrived in the Philippines from Australia on 1 November, declaring the southern city of Davao as their destination.
"They left the country on November 28, 2025, on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination," Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval said.
Sandoval said Sajid Akram entered the country on an Indian passport, while his son, Naveed Akram, entered on an Australian passport.
Davao is the capital of Mindanao, the southern island of the Philippines, which has been a hotbed for Islamic militants since the 1990s.
Security sources have not confirmed the pair's exact locations and movements in the southern Philippines.
Australia's intelligence agency, ASIO, had investigated Naveed Akram in 2019 over his associations with members of a Sydney-based IS terrorist cell, the ABC revealed.
A senior security source said Naveed Akram, then 18, displayed "indications of intent" and associations of concern that were investigated by ASIO in 2019, but further enquiries were not deemed to be needed at the time.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the 7.30 programme on Monday night that ASIO found "no evidence" during a six-month investigation that either the father or son had been radicalised.
The men were not on a terrorism watchlist in the lead-up to the attack, nor was Sajid Akram - a licensed gun owner - prevented from legally accessing firearms.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was asked on Radio National whether the pair's travel to the Philippines had come to the attention of Australia's national security agencies, but he did not directly answer the question.
Burke said that since ASIO's 2019 investigation into Naveed Akram, "there was a radical change in the risk profile of that individual".
The ABC revealed on Monday that two Islamic State flags were found in the Akrams' car at Bondi Beach, and investigators believed the pair had sworn allegiance to the terrorist group.
- ABC
