MANILA: The father and son behind one of Australia's deadliest mass shootings spent nearly the entire month of November in the Philippines, Manila's immigration department confirmed Tuesday, with the father entering the country as an "Indian national."
Sajid Akram and his son Naveed, who allegedly killed 15 people and wounded dozens of others at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney's Bondi Beach, arrived on November 1 with the southern province of Davao listed as their final destination.
"Sajid Akram, 50, Indian national, and Naveed Akram, 24, Australian national, arrived in the Philippines together last November 1, 2025, from Sydney, Australia," immigration spokeswoman Dana Sandoval told AFP, adding they departed on November 28.
"Both reported Davao as their final destination. They left the country on November 28, 2025, on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination."
Police and military sources had earlier told reporters they were still in the process of confirming the duo's presence in the country.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday that the two men had likely been radicalized by "Islamic State ideology."
The Philippines' southern island of Mindanao, home to Davao province, has a long history of Islamist insurgencies against central government rule.
Pro-Islamic State Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants, including foreign and local fighters, held Mindanao's Marawi under siege in 2017.
The Philippine military wrested back the ruined city after a five-month battle that claimed more than 1,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
While insurgent activity in Mindanao has significantly abated in the years since, the Philippine army continues to hunt leaders of groups deemed to be "terrorists."
Indian, Israeli propaganda
The confirmation follows widespread misinformation circulated by Indian and Israeli media outlets, which falsely identified the attackers as Pakistani nationals, a claim rejected by Australian authorities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu erroneously described the man who subdued one of the attackers as Jewish, while Israeli and Indian media alleged the gunmen were “Pakistani Muslims.”
“I saw a video on the way of a Jew who pounced on one of the murderers, snatched the weapon, saving who knows how many lives,” the Israeli PM said during a briefing in Dimona, Israel.
The Times of India shied away from describing the hero as a Syrian Muslim, and instead reported, “Social media footage showed moments of bravery amid the terror, including a bystander who confronted one of the gunmen and wrestled a weapon away.”
Indian media outlets, including ANI and The Times of India, kept falsely asserting that the attackers were a Pakistani father and son. Both claims were wrong and contradicted by Australian officials' descriptions of the incident.
Neither the Israeli leader nor the Indian media has taken back their statements.
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