Islamic State claims credit for Bondi massacre

By Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop and Danny Tran, ABC

• Islamic State has directly claimed credit for the Bondi massacre for the first time.
• The group's spokesman has also urged other supporters to continue attacks on Jews and Christians.
• Experts say the move is part of a propaganda programme by the terror group to promote "self-directed" terrorism.

Islamic State has embraced Sajid and Naveed Akram as "soldiers" and urged other supporters to continue attacks on Jews and Christians, as they claimed credit for the Bondi massacre.

The claim has been made by the group's spokesman, Abu Hudhayfah al-Ansari, in a sermon-like speech and newsletter glorifying the incident and describing attackers as "brave lions".

"Ask the Jews of Sydney and the Christians in Orleans, ask the Russians in Moscow... ask the places of worship of the Rafidah in Kerman … and then ask them in Khorasan and Pakistan, ask … about the heroic actions of our soldiers and the hits of our lions," the speech said.

It is the first time Islamic State has directly claimed responsibility for the attack by the father-and-son duo who allegedly gunned down 15 people and injured dozens during a Hanukkah celebration in December in what would become one of the worst mass-casualty events in modern Australian history.

Sajid Akram was killed by police during the attack. His son, Naveed Akram, survived and was taken into custody where he faces 59 charges, among them murder and committing a terrorist attack.

The comments from the terror group appear to be the first message from the Islamic State spokesman in two years.

'Self-directed' terrorism

Angelo Bani, who led INTERPOL's Counter-Terrorism Fusion Task Force, said the move by Islamic State was part of a propaganda strategy to extend its influence.

Bani, who now runs the private consultancy firm Protective Intelligence Network in Singapore, said the group was trying to inspire imitation of what he described as "self-directed" terrorism.

"By glorifying attackers and framing their actions as heroic, Islamic State seeks to encourage other radicalised individuals to carry out similar acts independently," Bani said.

"Extremist groups no longer need to direct attacks in a traditional command-and-control sense to achieve operational impact.

"Their most effective weapon has become the ability to project narratives into the digital space, identify receptive audiences, and transform ideology into action without ever meeting the perpetrator."

Mark Briskey, a former Australian Federal Police officer and researcher at Murdoch University, also said it was "typical" of the terror group to claim affiliation.

He said it was likely the group had learned more about the attack from the media which prompted them to claim the Akrams.

"This horrendous attack they would see as a tremendous boon, especially when we have both of the shooters claiming affiliation," Associate Professor Briskey said.

"Whether or not either of the shooters had any real connection with Islamic State, it's beside the point, because both of the shooters have adopted their ideology and have clearly, in their horrendous attack, followed through."

A Four Corners investigation has previously revealed that in 2019, Sajid Akram voiced support for Islamic State according to accounts from two men who moved in the same extremist circles.

In the wake of the Bondi attack, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Sajid Akram had shown "no indication of any radicalisation" in 2019.

In the same year, ASIO assessed that his son did not pose a terrorism threat, something which the domestic spy agency continues to stand by.

The ABC also revealed Naveed Akram had been in contact with several men who were later convicted of terrorism offences, including the self-declared commander of Islamic State in Australia, Isaac El Matari.

After the Bondi attack, police allege two homemade Islamic State flags were found in the duo's car at Bondi Beach, placed on the car's front and rear windscreens.

Investigators also found videos on Naveed Akram's phone which allegedly show the father-and-son sitting in front of an Islamic State flag with firearms and reciting a passage from the Quran.

Islamic State's claim -published days ago and which the ABC has been unable to independently verify - marks a divergence from the terror group's previous statements on Bondi in which it celebrated the massacre but did not take responsibility.

The terror group has previously made some false claims following the collapse of its so-called caliphate in Syria and the assassination of its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, at the hands of US Special Forces.

In 2017, Islamic State claimed it was behind the Las Vegas hotel shooting - the deadliest shooting in US history - which killed 60 people and wounded more than 500. Officials said there was no evidence to support the claim the group was involved.

It also claimed responsibility for what became known as the Brighton Siege in Melbourne, also in 2017, where Yacqub Khayre killed a man and took a woman hostage before being shot dead by police.

Khayre, who was previously acquitted over the Holsworthy Army Barracks terror plot, dedicated the siege to Islamic State and Al Qaeda.

Like the Akrams, Islamic State later used its own news agency to refer to Khayre as a "soldier", which a Victorian coroner later found was unsupported by evidence.

'Soldiers of the caliphate'

Levi West, a terrorism researcher at the Australian National University, said Islamic State had adapted its strategy since its caliphate crumbled.

"You don't need to have been in direct communication, it's sufficient to do things like unfurl a flag to demonstrate your commitment and support to the cause," Dr West said.

He pointed to the 2014 Lindt Café Siege which was also claimed by Islamic State, where perpetrator Man Haron Monis brought the wrong flag before demanding an Islamic State flag be brought to him.

Dr West said it was important to differentiate between ideological and operational responsibility.

"All they're really concerned about is that the motivation for the attack was Islamic State ideology," he said.

"In some of the language that they use, they acknowledge that as long as you've taken methodological and ideological inspiration from it, then it will be sufficient for them to acknowledge that the attackers are 'soldiers of the caliphate' to use their language."

- ABC