Father and son with links to Islamic State identified as Bondi Beach terrorists

A 10-year-old girl is the youngest of the 15 victims identified so far.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The terrorists who carried out the shooting attack at the Chanukah celebration in Bondi Beach on Sunday were a father-and-son team of Pakistani origin with links to Islamic State, Australian authorities confirmed on Monday.

Sajid Akram, 50, was killed, and his son, Naveed, 24, was seriously injured by police officers on the scene after they killed at least 15 people and injured dozens more.

In condemning the attack, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Naveed Akram was investigated by Australia’s domestic intelligence agency six years ago over links to an Islamic State terror cell based in Sydney.

After a six-month inquiry, authorities concluded he did not pose an immediate threat, he said.

ABC News Australia cited an official from the Joint Counter Terrorism Team Monday who said that both Naveed and his father had pledged allegiance to the Islamist terror group and that Naveed had close ties to the local IS leader, who is currently imprisoned on terrorism offenses.

Police found two IS flags and two improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, in the car the perpetrators used to travel to the Chanukah by the Sea event, including one flag displayed on the hood.

When authorities raided their home in southwest Sydney on Sunday night, they found two additional “basic” IEDs, New South Wales (NSW) police said.

Two women and a man who exited the house when police called for anyone inside to come out were “interviewed by police [on the street] and then they were taken away,” a neighbor said.

Sajid Akram had held six valid firearms licenses for the past 10 years, and all six weapons were recovered at the scene, said NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon.

Video of the attack shows the two men using what were described as hunting rifles, firing single shots one after the other from either a bridge or a road in the park where the Chanukah event was taking place.

They killed at least 15 people and wounded between 38 and 40, five of whom are in serious condition. Two of the wounded are police officers.

Four children were among the known victims. The only one publicized to date was the youngest, a 10-year-old girl named Matilda.

Among the adult victims were Alex Kleytman, 87, a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to Australia after World War II, and Dan Elkayam, 27, a French national who moved to the country a year ago.

Three others were from the Chabad community: Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a father of five who organized the annual event that drew about 2,000 celebrants; Chabad emissary Rabbi Yaakov Halevi Levitan; and Reuven Morrison.

Another victim was identified as Tibor Weitzen by the Daily Mail, which reported that he died while protecting his wife, who survived the shooting.

Peter Meagher, a former NSW detective who was working as a freelance photographer at the event, and Marika Pogany, 82, were the eighth and ninth victims named so far.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced that one of those killed and one of the wounded were Israeli citizens, but did not name them.

Police said the death toll could have been far higher if not for the actions of Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Muslim man who was walking on the beach when the attack began.

Al-Ahmed crept up on Sajid Akram as he was shooting from a path and tackled him to the ground.

In an online video that later went viral, the burly 43-year-old can be seen yanking the rifle away, pointing it at the terrorist for several seconds, then placing it against a tree as Akram walked away.

It remains unclear whether al-Ahmed shot the attacker, but he can be seen throwing rocks at him at the end of the clip.

Al-Ahmed was wounded in the attack, suffering one gunshot wound to the shoulder and another to the arm, his cousin told Australia’s 7NEWS, but he is expected to make a full recovery.

AustraliaChanukah eventISISSydney terror attack