Fifteen people lost their lives in a horrific terrorist attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, during the celebration of the first day of the Jewish festival 'Hanukkah'. Among the victims were a 10-year-old child as well as an 87-year-old elderly person who had survived Hitler's Holocaust. Now India's name has been linked to this attack. Investigators have reported that an Indian passport was found on the attacker, Sajid Akram.
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According to reports from Manila and Sydney police, just before this attack, the attacker, Sajid and his son, Naved Akram (24), had gone to the Philippines for special military training. From November 1 to 28, they were at a militant base in the southern Philippines. Son Naved had gone there with his Australian passport. But father Sajid had used an Indian passport.
It was initially known that the Akram family was of Pakistani origin. Investigators were puzzled about how Sajid Akram, who had Pakistani connections, came to possess an Indian passport. According to a Bloomberg report, a response has been sought from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on this matter.
However, 'The Print' and 'News Minute' portals have found Sajid Akram's family in the Old City area of Hyderabad, India. Both news outlets claim that Sajid was a resident of this place. His two brothers and other family members still live there. Though they claim they have had no contact with Sajid for a long time, because he had married a Christian woman after going to Australia.
According to 'The Print' report, Sajid had gone to Australia to study in 1998. He went to Australia on a student visa and never returned. There, he married a Christian woman, and his son Naved was born there.
According to 'The Print' report, Sajid had gone to Australia to study in 1998. He went to Australia on a student visa and never returned. There, he married a Christian woman, and his son Naved was born there.
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Meanwhile, Australian police have recovered two ISIS militant group flags and an Improvised Explosive Device or IED from the Bondi Beach incident site. This suggests they carried out this attack following the ISIS ideology. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also made this claim. This is not the end – Naved Akram had come under the attention of security agencies in 2019 itself on suspicion of links with the ISIS militant group.
Investigators have not yet been able to confirm whether this father-son attacker duo actually had connections with any international jihadi group. However, intelligence agencies are sensing the involvement of a large-scale international jihadi network behind this incident, connecting three factors: the son's ISIS links, the father's India connection, and militant training in the Philippines.
