Philippines Denies Terror Training Link in Sydney Hanukkah Shooting Case
Philippines denies any terrorist training link to Sydney gunman.
The Philippine government issued a resolute denial on December 17, 2025, refuting any suggestion that Sajid Akram and his son Naveed, the perpetrators of the mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney's Bondi Beach that killed 15 people and injured dozens, underwent terrorist training or radicalisation during their brief November visit to the country.
Presidential spokeswoman Claire Castro, delivering a statement from the National Security Council, condemned what she described as misleading characterisations of the Philippines as an ISIS training hotspot, asserting that no credible evidence had been provided to link the duo's travel to any extremist activities or contacts.
Immigration authorities confirmed the father-and-son pair arrived in the Philippines on November 1, 2025, declaring Davao in the southern Mindanao region as their destination before departing on November 28, prompting Australian investigators to examine possible encounters with radical elements in an area historically associated with Islamist insurgencies against Manila's central authority.
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Military spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla highlighted the substantial degradation of remaining armed Muslim groups on Mindanao following the intense 2017 Marawi siege—a five-month conflict with pro-Islamic State militants that resulted in over 1,000 deaths and massive displacement—stating no significant terrorist operations or training activities have been recorded since the start of 2024, with factions now fragmented and lacking cohesive leadership.
Colonel Xerxes Trinidad further argued that the attackers' 30-day stay offered inadequate duration for substantive training, particularly in specialised skills such as marksmanship, while independent security analyst Rommel Banlaoi countered that despite setbacks, insurgent networks persist with active camps in central Mindanao and maintain local and global online connections capable of facilitating radicalisation.
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