How village in the Philippines became entangled in Bondi terror

“None of [the village leaders] have monitored the presence of those two people.”

Those two people are Bondi beach shooter Sajid Akram, who was killed by police, and his accused son, Naveed.

Australian authorities and newly released court documents suggest the attack at Bondi was inspired by Islamic State ideology. So it is deeply unsettling for Filipinos and their government that the men spent almost all of November on the southern island of Mindanao, where Islamic militant groups have historically been active.

In 2016, Daulah Islamiyah was behind a bombing in Davao City that killed 15 people. The group was also responsible for torching a passenger bus in M’lang that killed at least three people in 2021.

That same year, Philippine authorities launched clearing operations against the militants, killing DI leader Salahuddin Hassan.

Until then, militant strongholds had only been about 10 kilometres from Dungoan, Sagadan says. Manila insists militant groups in Mindanao have been severely degraded, and Sagadan agrees. But he says traces may linger.

“Since 2022 there have been reports of sightings in [neighbouring province] Maguindanao,” he says. “But it’s very hard to pinpoint their location because they are always on the run.”

What the Akrams got up to in Mindanao remains a mystery. Staff at the Davao City hotel where they stayed between November 1 and November 28 said the pair only left the $24 budget room for one or two hours a day.

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But this masthead revealed on Monday that investigators believe they may have detected one of the Akrams’ phones in the township of M’lang, which is three hours by car from Davao City or five hours by bus.

It is not known whether one or both of the Akrams did, in fact, travel to or near M’lang. Police in the town said “validation” efforts were ongoing.

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