Australia’s Secret Service (ASIO) was investigating one of the suspected perpetrators of the Bondi attack six years ago for alleged links to a cell of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in Sydney, the public broadcaster reported this Monday ABCwhich quoted an anonymous agency source, while authorities confirmed that the attackers were father and son.
The broadcaster quoted an unnamed senior official linked to the joint counterterrorism operation investigating the attack. According to this version, authorities believed that one of the attackers had a close relationship with an ISIS member who was arrested in July 2019 and later convicted of preparing a terrorist attack in Australia.
The public broadcaster added that counter-terrorism investigators believed the two Bondi attackers had sworn allegiance to the terrorist Islamic State and that two ISIS flags were found in the car used by the attackers, according to reports from senior officials. New South Wales Police said they could not confirm these reports.
The Director General of ASIO, Mike Burgessdeclared on Sunday that one of the attackers was “known to us, but did not pose an immediate threat“.”So of course we have to investigate what happened here” he added to the press. When asked about the details of the case, ASIO replied: “does not comment on individuals or ongoing investigations“.
Australian security forces identified the suspected perpetrators of Sunday’s attack on Bondi Beach as a 50-year-old man who died after a confrontation with police and his 24-year-old son, who remains hospitalized in police custody. The official confirmation was announced this Monday in Sydney following a press conference by the New South Wales Police.
“We believe there were two perpetrators involved in yesterday’s incident, one has died and the second is in a critical but stable condition in hospital. These are a 50-year-old man and a 24-year-old man, who are father and son.“New South Wales Police Chief Mal Lanyon told the media.
Lanyon said authorities conducted two searches overnight in the suburbs of Bonnyrigg and Campsie, both southwest of Sydney. The first operation focused on the area where the attackers allegedly came from, while the second took place at the location where they were at the time of the attack.
Authorities confirmed they are not looking for any other suspects. They also discovered that the deceased had held a firearms license for a decade and owned at least six registered weapons. According to police information released this Monday, six weapons were recovered both at the scene of the attack and at the house in Campsie.
Authorities continued this Monday to investigate the attack that occurred 16 people diedincluding one of the attackers and a 10-year-old girl, and at least 40 injuredincluding four minors, according to the latest police update.
The attack occurred around 6:40 p.m. local time on Sunday when two men armed with rifles opened fire on a crowd gathered in a park near Bondi Beach, one of the country’s busiest tourist spots.
(With information from AFP and EFE)
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