The Philippines immigration authorities have said that the father-son duo involved in the Bondi beach shooting visited the island nation as “Indian nationals”.
Earlier, the Australian police also claimed that the two alleged gunmen who attacked a Hanukkah event at the Sydney beach had travelled to the Philippines before the assault which killed 15 people and appeared to be inspired by Daesh.
BBC reported citing the Philipinnes immigration bureau that the attackers travelled to the Philippines on November 1 on Indian passports and left on November 28.
They said that the duo declared the southern city of Davao as their final destination in the country, before finally returning to Sydney, Australia.
Davao is a large urban center located on the eastern side of Mindanao, the Philippines’ largest southern island. Armed groups are known to be active in economically disadvantaged areas of central and southwestern Mindanao.
The Philippine military, however, said it was unable to promptly verify claims that the two individuals had received “military-style training” during their time in the country, despite earlier reports suggesting otherwise.
This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.
