Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that the two suspects responsible for attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney that claimed 16 lives were driven by the ideology of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The two attackers, identified as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and 24-year-old Naveed Akram, were a father-son duo, who targeted a Jewish festival on Sunday evening.
"It would appear that this was motivated by Islamic State ideology," Albanese said. "The ideology that has been around for more than a decade that led to this ideology of hate, and in this case, a preparedness to engage in mass murder."
According to Albanese, Naveed came under the radar of Australian agencies in 2019 but he was not considered as a threat back then. Naveen and his father, the Australian prime minister said, were radicalised before the carried out at the 'mass murder' on the Bondi Beach on Sunday.
"He was drawn to their attention because of his association with others," Albanese said. "Two of the people he was associated with were charged and went to jail, but he was not seen at that time to be a person of interest."
Bondi attackers' ISIS connection
Interestingly, Albanese's remarks come after an ISIS flag was recovered from the car belonging to the suspects. Australian officials also said that the father was even having six firearms licenses. They said a probe is currently underway to find whether it was a lone wolf attack or if the attackers were affiliated with a terror group.
"We want to get to the bottom of this. We want to understand the motives behind it and we certainly want to understand the actions that have happened," New South Wales police commissioner Mal Lanyon said while briefing the reporters on Monday.
The attack, meanwhile, has left the entire Australia shocked, particularly the Jewish community. Israel has now urged Australia to address the crimes targeting the Jews, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Canberra's decision to recognise a Palestinian state "pours fuel on the antisemitic fire".
