Australia: media reports that Sydney attackers had pledged allegiance to ISIS

Milan, 15 December (LaPresse) – Investigators from the Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT), an Australian unit composed of state and federal agencies, believe that the two attackers responsible for the attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney had pledged allegiance to ISIS. This is according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC), which also cites sources saying that two ISIS flags were found in the attackers’ car at Bondi Beach. The attackers have been identified as father and son: Naveed Akram, 24, who is in hospital under police guard, and Sajid Akram, 50, who died on Sunday in a shootout with police. The Australian broadcaster ABC also reports, according to information obtained from a JCTT official, that ASIO, the Australian intelligence agency, had taken an interest in Naveed Akram six years ago, after police foiled plans for an ISIS terrorist attack, due to his close ties to a terrorist cell of the group based in Sydney.