Explainer: Bondi attack suspects travelled to Philippine region known for Islamist militancy

MANILA – The father-and-son duo accused of carrying out the

Dec 14

Bondi Beach attack

had travelled to the southern Philippines, a region long plagued by Islamist militancy, before the attack that Australian police say appeared to be inspired by terror group ISIS.

How much time did the suspects spend in the Philippines?

Immigration records show they arrived on Nov 1 aboard a Philippine Airlines flight and

landed in Davao City

, ‍about 225​km by road from Maguindanao and roughly 195km from Lanao del Sur, known as hot spots for ISIS-linked groups ‍and other militant organisations such as Abu Sayyaf.

Records indicate the pair flew in on the same Philippine Airlines flight from Sydney to Manila and onward to Davao, and left on Nov 28 via the same route back to ​Sydney, around two weeks ​before the attack that killed 15 people. One of the alleged gunmen was also killed.

A Bureau of Immigration spokesperson said the father, an Indian national and Australian resident, travelled on an Indian passport, while his son, an Australian citizen, used an Australian passport. 

The Philippine authorities say they have no information yet on what the two did during their nearly month-long stay, and a spokesman for ‍the military said that any allegations linking the suspects to any militant group or suggesting they received training in the country remain inconclusive.

What is the history of militancy in the Philippines?

The southern Mindanao ​region, roiled for decades by Islamist separatists, communist rebels and warlords,

has been fertile ground ⁠for ISIS' ideology

. It is the only region in the largely Catholic country with a significant Muslim minority. 

Its porous borders and rugged terrain made it a conducive environment for foreign fighters seeking training with groups such as Abu Sayyaf and ISIS-linked factions. 

A 2023 US State Department report said the Philippines remained a destination for what it called “foreign terrorist fighters” from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Middle East and Europe.

Philippine Armed Forces chief Romeo Brawner Jr said in 2024 that ​it had not detected foreign terrorists operating in the country, crediting sustained counterterrorism operations.

But Dr Rommel Banlaoi, an anti-terrorism expert in the Philippines, said that while the threat of terrorism in the country had declined, it was not disappearing. 

What militant groups operate in the Philippines?

Despite the gains, several groups remain active, though significantly weakened, according to ​the Philippine military and security officials.  

Abu Sayyaf, once notorious for kidnappings and bombings, has been neutralised, with most of its members having surrendered, an army spokesperson said.

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a splinter of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, still operates in Maguindanao but has been diminished by surrenders and raids, the spokesperson added.

The Maute Group, also known as Daulah Islamiyah, has been reduced to a “manageable number” and is now on the run, the same official said.  

ISIS-East Asia, a loose network of groups that have pledged allegiance to ISIS, has around 300 to 500 mostly Filipino and some foreign fighters who have carried out sporadic attacks in Mindanao. That figure was cited in a 2022 report by the US Congressional Research Service.

The decades-old communist insurgency led by the Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army persists in some rural areas, but ‍its strength has dwindled to fewer than 1,000 members nationwide, according to the government's anti-insurgency task force.   

Where have militant groups attacked in the Philippines?

Some of these groups have carried out ​some of the deadliest attacks in Philippine history. 

In December 2000, five near-simultaneous bomb blasts across Metro Manila killed 22 and injured around 100, attacks linked to Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah. 

In February 2004, Abu Sayyaf was blamed for the bombing ​of a ferry near Manila Bay, killing more than 100 people, the country’s worst militant attack.

In 2017, ISIS-inspired Maute group

seized the ‌southern city of Marawi

and held it through five months of ground offensives and air strikes by the military.

In January 2019,

twin bombings at a cathedral in Jolo, Sulu

, killed more than 20 people, including civilians and soldiers.

The authorities say the threat of large-scale attacks has diminished, but remnants of ‌militant groups continue to strike remote and isolated targets, keeping security forces alert. REUTERS