Bondi suspects reportedly trained where Islamist separatists have been for years

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The father and lad suspects successful the panic onslaught connected Jewish radical gathered for a Hanukkah lawsuit successful Bondi Beach, Australia, spent astir of November successful the Philippines, constabulary said Tuesday. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, meanwhile, that the onslaught was "motivated by ISIS ideology."

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told reporters that investigators were inactive looking into the reasons for the travel and wherever precisely the men went betwixt Nov. 1 and 28. The Philippines Bureau of Immigration said Sajid Akram, 50, who was killed during the attack, and his 24-year-old son, identified wide by Australian media arsenic Naveed Akram, had listed the confederate metropolis of Davao arsenic their last destination connected the trip.

Australian nationalist broadcaster ABC reported the men had undergone "military-style training" successful the Asian nation, citing information sources.

"People person traveled and networked amongst these groups, but very, precise rarely," Tom Smith, the world manager of the Royal Air Force College who studies information and coercion successful the Philippines and Southeast Asia, told CBS News. "And this is often overblown."

An Australian emblem is placed adjacent flowers laid arsenic a tribute to grant the victims of a panic onslaught that targeted a Hanukkah solemnisation astatine Bondi Beach successful Sydney, Australia, Dec. 16, 2025.

The Philippines' past with Islamist insurgency

Islamist separatists person operated successful the confederate Philippines for decades — it's "an insurgency which is astir 100 years successful the making," according to Smith.

He said 2 longstanding militant groups successful the portion — the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, known arsenic the MILF, and the Moro National Liberation Front, oregon MNLF — person been "sort of the grandfather, aged rebellious groups of the Islamist movement" successful the region.

But, Smith said, "when you person 2 rather, benignant of beefy militant groups, radical get disgruntled. And truthful there's loads of different fringe, overmuch smaller militant groups" successful the portion arsenic well, including 1 called Abu Sayyaf, which is affiliated with ISIS.

Smith said these groups are "much smaller successful number, but astir apt much vicious successful their attacks against civilians and authorities officials."

"Analysts present picture Abu Sayyaf arsenic fragmented remnants with residual ideological affinity to Islamic State (ISIS), but small grounds of existent operational absorption oregon sustained funding" from ISIS, Lucas Webber, a elder probe chap astatine the New York-based Soufan Center deliberation tank, told CBS News.

Based successful the Philippines' distant Sulu archipelago, Abu Sayyaf's main concern is kidnapping for ransom, Smith said.

They "wrapped themselves successful the ISIS flag, oregon the al Qaeda banner successful years gone by, due to the fact that they privation to inflate their consciousness of danger. Because, rather frankly, there's an economical inducement to that. Because it means that they volition get a higher ransom paid much efficiently, and these guys don't play," helium said. "They volition really behead people."

That is simply a presumption shared by the U.S. government, which designated Abu Sayyaf arsenic a violent enactment successful 1997, not agelong aft it emerged arsenic an offshoot of the larger Islamist groups successful the region.

According to the U.S. State Department's astir caller assessment from 2023, it is "one of the astir convulsive violent groups successful the Philippines."

"Some Abu Sayyaf Group factions person been reported to interact and coordinate with ISIS-P [ISIS-Philippines], including by participating successful attacks that are claimed by ISIS successful the Sulu Archipelago," the U.S. authorities appraisal said, adding that it had "committed bombings, ambushes of information personnel, public beheadings, assassinations, extortion, and kidnappings for ransom."

But some Smith and Webber told CBS News that Abu Sayyaf, and different determination factions, had been dealt a superior stroke successful caller years.

"Years of subject unit [with U.S. support], amended section governance successful Bangsamoro, and amnesty/reintegration programs person breached up galore networks, led to wide surrenders, and sharply reduced the frequence and standard of attacks," Webber said. "At the aforesaid time, tiny pockets of militants and ex‑fighters with IS ideology stay successful parts of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, and individuals tin inactive beryllium radicalized online oregon done idiosyncratic ties. The main hazard contiguous is little a ample 'IS province' connected Philippine soil, and much the anticipation that residual cells oregon sympathizers could effort sporadic attacks oregon nexus up with transnational plots if section conditions deteriorate oregon information efforts are neglected."

Terror grooming camps?

The Associated Press cited Philippine subject and constabulary officials connected Tuesday arsenic saying determination has been nary caller denotation of immoderate overseas militants operating successful the southbound of the country.

Smith said to question to person weapons grooming with Abu Sayyaf militants would beryllium precise hard for foreigners successful the Philippines, particularly without immoderate section connection skills.

"They would instrumentality retired similar a sore thumb," Smith said. "When I spell there, you know, I'm determination with subject support. I person a Ph.D. successful the area, and adjacent I instrumentality retired similar a sore thumb."

He said determination are "plenty of equipped radical successful Mindanao, successful the Philippines, for them to spell and practice, you know, firing rifles and what person you. But it's a agelong mode to accidental that that equals a violent camp."

Referring to the suspects successful the Bondi Beach attack, Smith said it was "much much apt that they could person got immoderate ex-rebels and gone determination successful the jungle for a mates of weeks and been shown however to occurrence and cleanable their rifles and worldly similar that."

The 2 larger militant groups, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front — which are not affiliated with ISIS — bash "have the grooming camps. They're near unsocial to their territories. But it would beryllium precise antithetic if the Bondi Beach attackers got orientated with them, due to the fact that I conscionable can't ideate that the MILF oregon the MNLF would person countenanced that. So it is truly unusual," Smith said.