Bondi Beach gunman had been investigated by Australia's spy agency over ties to Islamic State

A suspect in the massacre at a Hanukkah event in Sydney's Bondi Beach had been investigated by Australia's spy agency over ties to Islamic State.Naveed Akram, 24, had been probed by Australian Security Intelligence Organisation for six months in 2019 over his support for the terrorist organisation.ASIO and local police confirmed Naveed, a graduate at the Al Murad Institute in Heckenberg, was “known” to them but they did not consider him an “immediate” threat.Counter-terrorism officials also believe Akram and his father Sajid, 50, had pledged allegiance to the group. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Sajid, a small business owner who arrived in Australia from Pakistan in 1998 on a student visa, was licensed to own six guns.Two black and white Isis flags were reportedly found in their car, as well as “improvised explosive devices”, New South Wales Police said.At least 15 people were killed in an antisemitic terror attack at a “Chanukah by the Sea” event, where Sajid was killed at the

News Dec 15, 2025 0 6 Add to Reading List

Bondi Beach gunman had been investigated by Australia's spy agency over ties to Islamic State

A suspect in the massacre at a Hanukkah event in Sydney's Bondi Beach had been investigated by Australia's spy agency over ties to Islamic State.

Naveed Akram, 24, had been probed by Australian Security Intelligence Organisation for six months in 2019 over his support for the terrorist organisation.

ASIO and local police confirmed Naveed, a graduate at the Al Murad Institute in Heckenberg, was “known” to them but they did not consider him an “immediate” threat.

Counter-terrorism officials also believe Akram and his father Sajid, 50, had pledged allegiance to the group.

Sajid, a small business owner who arrived in Australia from Pakistan in 1998 on a student visa, was licensed to own six guns.

Two black and white Isis flags were reportedly found in their car, as well as “improvised explosive devices”, New South Wales Police said.

At least 15 people were killed in an antisemitic terror attack at a “Chanukah by the Sea” event, where Sajid was killed at the scene and Naveed was taken to hospital with bullet wounds to his arm and hand.

At least 40 others are receiving medical treatment, including three children, as crowds of several hundred descended on the Bondi Pavilion to lay wreaths and bouquets of flowers.

Australia’s Prime Minister said the father and son duo acted alone and not part of a wider proscribed group or cell.

But Anthony Albanese said the two men were motivated by “extremist ideology”, telling ABC News: “Further detail, of course, will be released when the police go through their work.”

Mr Albanese also rejected claims from Benjamin Netanyahu, his Israeli counterpart, of pouring “fuel on the anti-Semitism fire” by recognising Palestinian statehood amid the conflict in Gaza.

“And overwhelmingly, most of the world recognises a two-state solution as being the way forward in the Middle East,” Mr Albanese said.

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Chris Minns, the New South Wales premier, said a “comprehensive investigation” has been launched that would include the police response and “full independent inquiry”.

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