PH authorities remain clueless about Sydney shooters’ movements in Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – In the days since the gunfire at Sydney, Australia’s Bondi Beach tore through a Jewish festival, killing at least 16 people, security forces have been trying to retrace a trail that leads far from Australia and into the terrain of Mindanao.

Military and police intelligence units are examining whether the two shooters – a father and son – went from Davao to Central Mindanao or the Bangsamoro region and used the area as a training ground before the December 14 assault, according to officials familiar with the investigation.

Teams from Joint Task Force Central, the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and regional police units are reviewing surveillance records and intelligence reports, looking for any indication that the pair visited possible militant camps in the hinterlands of the two regions.

The attackers were identified by authorities as Sajid Akram, 50, an Indian national, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, an Indian-Australian. Australian police said the two opened fire on a crowd gathered at Bondi Beach, a popular coastal strip in Sydney, in what is now being investigated as a terrorist attack aimed at the Jewish community in Australia.

The Bureau of Immigration confirmed that the Akrams flew from Sydney to the Philippines on November 1 and arrived in Davao City, which hosts Mindanao’s only international airport. They remained in the country for nearly four weeks before returning to Sydney on November 28, just over two weeks before the mass shooting.

What they did in Mindanao during that time – exactly where they went, whom they met, and whether they crossed into areas known for extremist activity – is now the focus of coordinated probes by the military, police and other security agencies.

Officials said there is, so far, no evidence that the pair trained with local militant groups or entered camps in Central Mindanao or the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). 

But the investigation remains active, and authorities acknowledge that the timeline, the destination and the scale of the attack have raised troubling questions that are still unanswered.

For now, military officials urged caution, saying there is no confirmation the two traveled to other Mindanao regions from Davao.

“As of now, we have no confirmation as to their travel inside our jurisdiction (Central Mindanao),” said Army Major General Jose Vladimir Cagara, commander of the 6th Infantry Division and Joint Task Force Central.

Central Mindanao or the Soccsksargen region is composed of the provinces of Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Saragani, and the cities of General Santos, Kidapawan, Koronadal, and Tacurong. 

Cagara said intelligence gathering was continuing to verify whether the pair entered the area.

Police in the Davao region are also conducting a separate probe into the suspects’ movements.

“We are still investigating that information,” said Major Catherine dela Rey, Philippine National Police-Davao Region spokesperson, referring to reports the two traveled to Davao City.

Australian media, citing police, report that the purpose of the Philippine visit remains under investigation, and authorities have not confirmed whether the pair had contact with local militant groups or received weapons training.

Australian police said Sajid Akram was killed in a shootout with officers responding to the attack, while his son was wounded. – Rappler.com