According to preliminary investigations, authorities believe that father and son acted independently, but were influenced by the ideology of the Islamic State terrorist group.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC today that the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) investigated the two men in 2019.
At the time, the agency interviewed several family members and people close to them, but found no signs of radicalization.
The two alleged attackers were said to have been in the Philippines for almost the entire month of November, according to Spanish news agency EFE, which cites the Philippine Department of Immigration.
“Sajid Akram, aged 50, Indian citizen [residente na Austrália]and Naveed Akram, 24 years old, Australian citizen, arrived together in the Philippines on November 1, 2025, from Sydney”, said the Philippine organization, adding that the two were in Davao City, capital of the island of Mindanao, where several groups affiliated with the Islamic State operate.
Marawi City in southern Mindanao was controlled by Islamic State cells for months in 2017.