Father and son Sydney gunmen travelled on Indian passports: reports
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Contrary to earlier reports that identified the father-and-son gunmen who shot dead fifteen people in Sydney as Pakistani nationals, Philippine immigration authorities have claimed that both had travelled to the country last month on Indian passports in November.
According to information attributed to Philippine immigration officials and reported by Bloomberg, Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, entered the Philippines from Sydney on November 1 and departed on November 28, with both declaring Davao as their final destination before later returning to Australia.
The Philippine news outlet ABS-CBN separately cited the Bureau of Immigration as describing both men as Indian nationals, although this account was partially contradicted by a BBC report, which noted that while Sajid held an Indian passport, Naveed was travelling on an Australian passport, based on information provided by spokesperson Dana Sandoval.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stated that the attack appeared to have been inspired by the Islamic State, while confirming that security agencies were examining the movements and associations of the two men in the weeks leading up to the shooting at a Sydney beach.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon has alleged that the pair had recently travelled to the Philippines and that investigators were seeking to establish the purpose of that trip, as well as their activities while there.
Police have further alleged that improvised explosive devices and two homemade Islamic State flags were discovered in a vehicle registered to Naveed Akram that was parked near the scene of the attack. Naveed Akram, a bricklayer by profession, was arrested at the scene and remains in hospital with critical injuries, while his father, Sajid Akram, was shot dead by police during the incident.
Authorities have also clarified that Sajid Akram did not hold a gun licence until 2023, correcting earlier reports that suggested he had been licensed for a decade. Meanwhile, Albanese has confirmed that Naveed Akram had come to the attention of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation in October 2019 and had been monitored for six months due to alleged associations, with reports indicating that the inquiry was linked to a suspected Islamic State cell.