Bondi gunmen were inspired by ISIS, travelled to the Philippines

Unclear if suspects had terrorist links or received training in Davao province

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People on Dec 16 attending a memorial in honour of victims of the mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah celebration that took place two days earlier at Sydney's Bondi Beach. The authorities said the attack was designed to sow panic among the nation's Jews, but have so far given little detail on the gunmen's deeper motivations.

(PHOTO: REUTERS)

A father and son were likely driven by "Islamic State (ISIS) ideology" when they fired on Bondi Beach in one of Australia's deadliest mass shootings, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Dec 16.

Sajid Akram, 50, and his 24year-old son Naveed opened fire on Jewish crowds thronging the famous beach for Hanukkah on the evening of Dec 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more.

The authorities said the attack was designed to sow panic among the nation's Jews, but have so far given little detail on the gunmen's deeper motivations.

Both men travelled to the Philippines in November, the Australian police said during a news conference on Dec 16. The father travelled on an Indian passport, while the son was on an Australian passport, officials said.

The Philippines Bureau of Immigration also confirmed on Dec 16 that the two men travelled to the Philippines on Nov 1 aboard Philippine Airlines Flight PR212 from Sydney to Manila and onwards to Davao.

A spokesperson for the bureau added that they departed on Nov 28 on the same flight number, PR212, from Davao province in the war-torn southern island of Mindanao back to Sydney, weeks before the assault that led to the death of 16 people, including one of the gunmen.

"The reasons why they went to the Philippines, and the purpose of that, and where they went, is under investigation at the moment," New South Wales police commissioner Mal Lanyon told reporters.

It was not conclusive they were linked to any terrorist group or whether they received training in the Philippines.