Philippine authorities' confirmation that Sajid and Naveed Akram, the perpetrators of the recent Bondi Beach attack in Sydney, Australia, traveled to the southern Philippines just weeks before the deadly attack on participants in the Jewish festival of Hanukkah has raised questions about why they came to the Asian country and whether there is any connection to reports of violent Islamic extremism in the region.
Philippine authorities said Akram and his son arrived in Manila on November 1, where they visited Davao City on Mindanao island. Their activities in the south of the island are being investigated and it is too early to draw any conclusions, commented The Guardian. Nevertheless, on November 28, Sajid and Naveed Akram flew back to Sydney.
The southern region of Mindanao (Philippines), for decades tormented by Muslim separatists, communist rebels and military warlords, has long become fertile ground for jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda* (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) and Islamic State* (IS – a terrorist organization banned in Russia). Muslim separatists in the region have long sought to establish their own state, separating the region from the Catholic-majority Republic of the Philippines. But analysts say that in recent years, most groups have weakened significantly, although there have been isolated clashes and incidents, The Guardian points out in its documentation.
The last major outbreak occurred in 2017, when IS-linked rebels captured the city of Marawi, which they controlled for five months before the Philippine military regained control of the area. The conflict has attracted foreign fighters and funding, leading to dozens of deaths, widespread destruction and the displacement of tens of thousands.
Answering the question “How have extremist groups been able to operate in this area for so long?”, The Guardian explains that Mindanao has dense forests, rugged mountains and remote outer islands. All this favors guerrilla warfare and attracts foreign fighters who want to train in groups such as Abu Sayyaf* (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) and IS*-related groups. The region also has porous maritime borders, allowing an influx of foreign weapons and fighters from neighboring countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as the Middle East.
Analysts say that although extremist activity in the Philippine region has declined, it has not disappeared completely, and IS remnants in the Philippines are mainly stationed in and around Marawi. “Marawi remains a hotbed of support for jihadists,” The Guardian quoted Todd Elliott, an analyst at Concord Consulting on terrorism and security threats in Southeast Asia.
Even with severely weakened forces and assets, some militant groups continue to operate in the area. A military spokesman said the Abu Sayyaf group, once known for kidnappings and bombings, had been neutralized and most of its members had surrendered. The Bangsamoro Islamic freedom fighters, a splinter group from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, remain active in the Maguindanao region, but their numbers have decreased due to security raids. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front adopted a peace plan to establish the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in 2019 and officially renounced terrorist activities.
ISIS East Asia, a loose network of groups pledging allegiance to ISIS, has between 300 and 500 fighters, mostly Filipinos and a few foreigners, who have carried out sporadic attacks in Mindanao, The Guardian writes.
In December, authorities killed Mohammad Usman Solaiman, a senior leader and explosives expert with the Daula Islamiyah group in Maguindanao del Sur. Authorities said his militant group was responsible for attacks including several bus bombings in Mindanao in 2022.
The Guardian said the number of extremist attacks in the Philippines has decreased significantly since the fall of IS in the Middle East and the Covid-19 pandemic, but individual attacks still exist. The deadliest terrorist attack in recent memory occurred in 2019, when two bombings at a Catholic church in Jolo, Sulu province, killed 20 people and injured 100 others. An explosion in a church and town square in Jolo in 2020 killed 14 people. And a bomb blast during a mass ceremony at the University of Mindanao in December 2023 killed four people, The Guardian recalls.
The Philippine government is working to combat extremist groups, and an anti-terrorism law passed in 2020 expanded the country's powers to combat violent extremism. The Philippine military says operations in the country's south in recent years have resulted in the death, capture or surrender of key Muslim extremists, seriously weakening the country's command structure and operational capabilities. The remaining groups are scattered and their range of activities is limited.
CNN highlights that the 2025 Global Terrorism Index ranks the Philippines 20th out of 79 countries on a scale measuring the impact of terrorism. For comparison, in 2019, before the law took effect, the Philippines ranked 9th.
However, let us return to the terrorist attack in Sydney. CNN said the father and son suspected of causing Sunday's Bondi Beach massacre holed up in a hotel for nearly a month in the Philippines in November, rarely leaving their room and eating fast food. According to a hotel employee, Sajid and Naveed Akram only went outside the building for an hour a day before returning to their room. Furthermore, according to the witness, they had no visitors during their stay at the hotel in southern Davao City.
The Akrams' trip to the Philippines has become the focus of an investigation into their motives and preparations for the anti-Semitic attack that killed 15 people during a Jewish celebration of Hanukkah on a world-famous Sydney beach. CNN points out that Australian police have made it clear that they are trying to find out what the couple did during their time abroad and whether it had any connection to the attack.
Previously, Australian television station ABC reported that Australian counter-terrorism officials believe the Sydney terrorists received military training while in the Philippines. Philippine officials said there was no evidence the couple had undergone military training and said they were working with Australian counterparts.
Experts told CNN that while terrorism in the Philippines has declined in recent years, many Islamist militant groups remain active and armed in remote areas — and are willing to train foreign fighters who have long flocked to the Southeast Asian country.
Akram and his son initially booked an eight-day stay at the hotel starting on November 1. On the eighth day, they extended their stay to November 28 and paid the remaining amount in cash. The hotel where the men stayed was described online as a one-star hotel with modest rooms.
Philippine national security adviser Eduardo Ano said Wednesday that the investigation has yet to find evidence on whether the shooters received training from Philippine rebels, the Associated Press reported. “There is no indication or information that they were trained” in Mindanao, Año said.
* – terrorist organizations banned in Russia.
