THE Bondi Beach gunmen made daily secret visits to contacts in a Muslim neighbourhood in the Philippines ahead of their massacre, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.
It comes after police in Australia said they were investigating father and son, Sajid and Naveed Akram’s trip to Asia, and their activities in the Philippines which has been a hotbed of Islamist violence.
The Filipino army and government have tried to play down the significance of the pair’s four-week visit to the terror hotspot just days before they killed 15 people.
And staff at the £11-a-night hotel where Sajid, 50, and his son Naveed, 24, stayed reckoned they hardly went out and didn’t see anyone else.
But we can reveal that they repeatedly met with people in Davao City, on the Philippines southern island of Mindanao which is a hotbed of Islamic extremism, raising fears they had accomplices there.
A military intelligence source based in the Philippines told The Sun on Sunday: “Someone saw them in the Muslim community.
“Every day they went to the Muslim community here in Davao.
“Civilians said they heard about it. They might have an accomplice here.
Our investigation is still ongoing.
“There is a threat of terrorism here in Davao and it’s possible that Davao City was one of their targets.
“That’s why our investigation is ongoing so we can check if they have people here.
“It’s difficult to trace where they went to specifically because they didn’t have a private vehicle here. Whenever they went they took a taxi.”
The Akrams flew to the Filipino capital of Manila on November 1 and headed to Davao where they checked into the GV Hotel.
They initially booked room 315 for seven days but extended it until November 28, 16 days before the massacre at the Hanukkah festival at Bondi where 40 people were also injured.
Staff told how they were sullen and hardly ever talked, with Sajid apparently trying to hide his appearance by wearing a hat and glasses.
One hotel worker told The Sun on Sunday: “They didn’t talk about their business here. They looked serious and were not approachable.
“The father was always silent and did not even look at us. When they passed by, they would just keep their heads down.
“They only requested for their room to be cleaned once about a week into their stay.
“They stayed inside the room while I was cleaning. They had a lot of trash.
“After that, they didn’t allow me to enter their room and just put their used towels outside their door.”
The Philippines has long been a hotbed of Islamist violence.
Al-Qaeda chiefs dreamt up the 9/11 attacks while based there and drew up thwarted plans to assassinate Pope John Paul II during his 1995 visit and blow up a dozen passenger jets.
ISLAMIST VIOLENCE
IS took control of a city on Mindanao for five months in 2017 before it was liberated in a bloody battle which left 1,000 dead and 400,000 displaced.
A counter-terrorism source told Australia’s ABC News that Sajid and his son underwent “military-style training” during their visit to the country.
Sajid was shot dead by police in the Bondi attack.
His son has been charged with 15 murders and terror offences and will face trial next year.
Bondi’s famous lifeguards yesterday paid a moving tribute to those killed in the IS-inspired attack.
Hundreds fanned out across the beach and held hands for a two-minute silence broken only by the noise of the nearby surf.
Many had raced to help those who had been shot when the gunmen opened fire.
As the silence ended, hundreds watching from the promenade applauded and a rescue chopper performed a fly-by.
Lifeguards at other beaches across Australia also held a silence at the same time.