Sydney attack: Australian intel had probed gunman in 2019 over IS links

Naveed Akram reportedly had close links with Matari, who is currently serving a 7-year prison sentence for planning an IS insurgency in Australian

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had examined one of the two men behind the Bondi Beach shooting six years ago due to his links with a Sydney-based Islamic State (IS) terror cell, according to an ABC News report.

 

Naveed Akram, one of the two attackers, first came under ASIO’s radar in 2019 following investigations into a foiled IS-related plot. Authorities later assessed that he did not pose an ongoing threat at the time.

 

The incident on Sunday evening has since become one of the deadliest mass casualty attacks in modern Australian history.

 

Who were the attackers and what happened at Bondi Beach?

 

Naveed, 24, and his father, Sajid, 50, opened fire at the Chanukah by the Sea event at Bondi Beach on Sunday, killing 15 people who had gathered to mark the first day of the Jewish festival.

 

Police fatally shot Sajid during an exchange of gunfire at the scene. Naveed survived and is currently in hospital under police guard.

 

What were the alleged terror links to Islamic State?

 

Investigators from the Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT), which includes state and federal agencies, believe the two men had pledged allegiance to the IS terrorist group, the report said.

 

Senior officials told ABC News that two IS flags were found inside the attackers’ vehicle at Bondi Beach. One of the flags was visible on the bonnet of the car in footage taken from the scene.

 

A senior JCTT official said ASIO had taken an interest in Naveed Akram six years ago after police disrupted plans for an IS-linked attack.

 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that Naveed Akram was under ASIO investigation for six months from October 2019 before authorities concluded he posed no immediate threat.

 

ASIO director-general Mike Burgess also confirmed one of the gunmen was known to the agency. “One of these individuals was known to us, but not in an immediate-threat perspective, so we need to look into what happened here,” he said.   

 

How was the gunman linked to earlier IS networks?

 

According to the report, Naveed Akram had close links with Matari, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for planning an IS insurgency as the self-declared Australian commander of the terror group.

 

Matari was part of a Sydney-based IS cell involving several men who have since been convicted of terrorism offences. Those individuals were also closely associated with Naveed Akram, the report said.

 

Why has the firearms licence raised concerns?

 

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed on Monday that Sajid Akram had legally held a firearms licence for a decade.

 

“He has six firearms licensed to him. We are satisfied that we have six firearms from the scene yesterday,” Lanyon said.

 

He added that police believed only the father and son were involved and that no other direct attackers were being sought. Lanyon also announced that 328 police officers would be deployed to places of worship as part of Operation Shelter.

 

Heavily armed police raided the Akram family home in Bonnyrigg and an Airbnb property in Campsie on Sunday night, with searches continuing into Monday morning.