The Australian Federal Police Commissioner has issued a stern warning of impending raids targeting hate preachers and their associates. This development comes amid an intensifying investigation into the terrorism incident in Bondi, which has put a spotlight on certain international connections.
Images have emerged of a modest hotel room with two single beds, rented for just over $20 a night and reportedly paid for in cash by the Akram family. This nondescript accommodation served as the base for the father and son during their 27-day stay in the Philippines, which is now a focal point of the Bondi terror attack inquiry.
In response to these allegations, Claire Castro from the Philippines’ Presidential Communications Office has vehemently denied that the Philippines is an ISIS training ground. “The president strongly rejects the sweeping statement and the misleading characterization of the Philippines as the ISIS training hotspot,” she stated.
The investigation has revealed that the father and son traveled to Davao in the Philippines, allegedly for militant training, just weeks before they are accused of executing an Islamic State-inspired attack targeting Jewish families at Bondi Beach.
Filipino authorities have been swift to dismiss claims of extremist training occurring within their borders. Colonel Xerxes Trinidad of the Armed Forces of the Philippines pointed out the improbability of such training being completed in a mere 30 days, stating, “Training cannot be acquired in just 30 days.”
“Training cannot be acquired in just 30 days,” Armed Forces of the Philippines Colonel Xerxes Trinidad said.
Colonel Froncel Margareth Padilla said in a television interview, “there are no activities such as trainings or any local terrorist activities”.
“The AFP continues to work with both domestic and international partners to build a more complete picture of the movements and who the alleged offenders had contact with both in Australia and offshore,” AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.
She would not confirm if it was known whether the accused mass killers received combat instructions overseas, but she did have this warning for anyone who may have influenced them back home:
“I can also reveal the AFP has ongoing investigations into people who have been described as hate preachers,” she said.
“These individuals who spew hatred and cause fear are on my radar.”
