Australian security agencies are intensifying their investigation into the backgrounds and overseas connections of Sajid and Naveed Akram, the father and son responsible for the deadly Chanukah attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that left 15 people murdered.
According to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, intelligence officials have determined that the two men traveled abroad shortly before the massacre, raising concerns that the assault may have been tied to a wider international terror framework.
Officials briefed on the probe told ABC that the Akrams flew to Manila in early November and later continued on to the southern Philippines. There, investigators believe the pair received what was described as “military-style training” before returning to Australia toward the end of November, just weeks before the attack unfolded.
A senior counter-terrorism source said the overseas trip and training have become a central focus of the inquiry, as authorities work to establish whether the shooters were acting independently or as part of a coordinated jihadist network operating beyond Australia’s borders.
Earlier reporting by ABC revealed that 24-year-old Naveed Akram had longstanding associations with members of Australia’s pro-Islamic State milieu. Among those named were extremist cleric Wisam Haddad and Youssef Uweinat, who was previously convicted for recruiting youth on behalf of ISIS.
Haddad, responding through his legal representative, denied any role in the attack, stating that he “vehemently denies any knowledge of or involvement in the shootings that took place at Bondi Beach.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously told ABC that Australia’s domestic intelligence service, ASIO, had conducted a six-month investigation into the Akram family and uncovered “no evidence” that either Sajid or Naveed Akram had been radicalized. Neither individual had appeared on any terrorism watchlists prior to the massacre. Authorities also confirmed that Sajid Akram legally owned firearms and faced no restrictions preventing him from accessing weapons.
While Australian investigators continue their work, international intelligence agencies are also weighing in. The British Telegraph reported that Israeli intelligence officials assess the Sydney massacre to have been the work of a foreign terrorist cell receiving backing from Iran.
The report further stated that the tactics and execution of the attack bear hallmarks associated with a Hezbollah-linked operational unit responsible for carrying out attacks beyond Lebanon’s borders. Israeli officials are additionally examining whether Hamas or other terrorist organizations may have had a role in supporting or directing the perpetrators.
{Matzav.com}A long-delayed effort to construct a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River is moving toward physical construction, with excavation scheduled to begin this spring using newly built tunnel boring machines now en route to New Jersey.
According to the Gateway Development Commission, which is managing the project, the first of the specialized machines is expected to arrive in January. Their arrival marks the transition from years of planning and delay to actual underground work on the long-anticipated tunnel.
“We are on the verge of a new phase of the Hudson Tunnel Project,” GDC commissioners said in a joint statement. “When the two tunnel boring machines that were manufactured this year begin their journey under the Palisades, it will represent a major step forward for the project.”
The machines were manufactured by Herrenknecht in Germany and are a key component of the Gateway program’s New Jersey construction phase. Together, they account for part of the roughly $465 million cost associated with excavating one mile of new rail tunnel on the New Jersey side. Operating at the same time, the two machines will carve out separate, parallel tunnel tubes.
The initial boring work beneath New Jersey is expected to take approximately one year, a spokesperson for the commission said. After that phase is completed, the project will move into the Hudson River itself, where different tunnel boring equipment will be required due to the riverbed’s unique conditions.
Once completed, the new tunnel—part of the broader Gateway program—will carry trains for both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit. It is intended to relieve pressure on the existing Hudson River tunnel, which is more than a century old and serves as a critical rail connection between New Jersey and Manhattan.
{Matzavc.com}
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