The Philippines’ long battle against Islamist extremism is back in the spotlight following Bondi attack

Soldiers take positions while evading sniper fire as they try to clear the city of armed militants one street at a time, on May 25, 2017 in Marawi city, southern Philippines. (Jes Aznar/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

As Australian authorities try to retrace the steps and understand the motivations of the Bondi Beach gunmen who killed 15 people on Sunday, one key focus has emerged: their travel to the Philippines last month, shortly before the attack.

Officials say father-son duo Sajid and Naveed Akram journeyed to a southern part of the archipelago nation that has endured a painful history of Islamic extremism.

They stayed in the country for nearly a month; then, two weeks after departing, they carried out their massacre on the famed Sydney beach, targeting a Jewish celebration in what was Australia’s worst mass shooting in decades. Later, homemade Islamic State flags were found in their car.

There’s a lot that’s still not clear. Authorities haven’t provided any more details on where they traveled within the Philippines during their trip, what they were doing, and whether the trip was directly linked at all to the attack.

“The reasons why they went to the Philippines and the purpose of that and where they went when they were there is under investigation at the moment,” New South Wales Police said on Tuesday, adding that the pair hadn’t triggered any security alerts during their trip.

The son had previously been examined by Australia’s domestic security agency six years ago for his close ties to a Sydney-based Islamic State (IS) terrorism cell, but was not deemed a threat.

However, Australian counterterrorism officials believe the men underwent military-style training while in the Philippines, public broadcaster ABC reported on Tuesday.

And experts tell CNN that although terrorism in the Philippines has declined in recent years, many Islamic militant groups remain active and armed in more remote regions – and are willing to train foreign fighters that have long flocked to the Southeast Asian nation.

“Since the al Qaeda days, the Philippines has always been regarded as the terrorism academy in Asia, because its location and existing militant groups provide a conducive environment for training activities,” said Rommel Banlaoi, chairman of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research.

The Philippine government said this week it is in touch with Australian law enforcement counterparts.

“We reaffirm our support for efforts that protect communities from intolerance, hatred, and violence,” Foreign Minister Theresa P. Lazaro wrote on X after speaking with her Australian counterpart.

Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said Wednesday that no evidence had yet surfaced in the investigation into whether the suspected shooters had trained with Filipino militants, The Associated Press reported. “There is no indicator or any information that they underwent training” in Mindanao, Ano said.

Meanwhile, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos junior’s spokesperson, Claire Castro, said the leader rejected “the misleading characterisation of the Philippines as an ISIS training hotspot.”

Where are these extremists based?

Militant groups have been active in southern Philippines for decades, and attracted foreign nationals to join the cause even before the Sept. 11 attack in New York, said Banlaoi.

The Philippine group Abu Sayyaf was an early ally of al Qaeda, but in more recent years many militant outfits began more openly pledging allegiance to, or aligning themselves with, IS – a trend that was replicated across much of the globe.

Multiple groups gathered under the umbrella term of ISEA – the Islamic State East Asia. In 2017, the Islamic State even released a video calling for its fighters to travel to the Philippines instead of Iraq and Syria, according to Australia’s national security agency ASIO.

Most terrorist activity is concentrated on the southern island of Mindanao, which – unlike the rest of the largely Catholic nation – has a majority Muslim population.

For decades, Mindanao has been wracked by unrest and conflict, including clashes between authorities and a local separatist movement with widespread allegations of human rights abuses from all parties.

“A lot of people felt left out and aggrieved,” said Greg Barton, the chair of Global Islamic Politics at Deakin University. The Muslim minority in Mindanao “have been in that region an extremely long time – Islam came to them before Catholicism came to the rest of the Philippines.”

These activities aren’t limited to just the jungles – they exist in urban areas, too.

The coastal city of Davao, which the Bondi suspects had listed as their final destination, “has always been the most favored destination for foreign terrorist fighters to meet,” Banlaoi said. “Davao City is less of a target, but a meeting place, a hub for planning, financing, and logistical arrangements.”

It is not yet clear whether the Akrams traveled outside of Davao.

Why the Philippines?

In 2017, militant groups delivered a public show of force that caught many off guard when the Abu Sayyaf and Maute groups – the latter of which had declared allegiance to IS - captured and occupied Marawi, the country’s biggest Muslim-majority city.

The violence forced more than 350,000 residents to flee the city and the surrounding areas before Philippine forces liberated it after a bloody, months-long siege.

There are a few reasons why the Philippines – and Mindanao in particular – has become such a hotspot for extremism.

For one, the country has historically “struggled to have good governance. It didn’t have democracy until relatively recently … economic growth was not stable and not well spread,” said Barton. Compared to neighboring countries like Malaysia, “Mindanao was much more of a wild frontier zone.”

The densely forested mountains and coastal environment also allow militant groups to set up camps, train fighters and organize supplies out of sight and in hard-to-reach places.

“It’s a safe haven for foreign terrorist fighters because they can easily hide, and our law enforcement authorities do not have enough capabilities to penetrate those terrains,” Banlaoi said.

The country has porous borders, and as a major tourist destination is “very accommodating to foreign nationals,” he said, making it easy for people to flow in and out of the country – legally or otherwise.

Finally, the fact that there are so many existing militant groups, which have had decades to establish themselves, makes the Philippines “the most preferred destination of foreign fighters, not only from Asia, but also from different parts of the world,” he said.

However, he added, not just anyone can walk into a militant camp; any foreign fighters wanting training would need to have established links with the militant groups or extremist networks on the ground.

The Australian national security agency, ASIO, said in a briefing on its website that ISEA “exploits poor economic and social conditions in the Philippines, particularly across Central Mindanao, to attract members.”

Some local recruits join in the hope of better economic prospects; others share the group’s ideological goals, such as establishing an Islamic State under Shariah law in the southern Philippines, the briefing said.

How prevalent are these groups now?

These groups have been involved in various violent attacks over the past few decades.

Abu Sayyaf was particularly notorious for kidnapping and ransoming foreigners. Following the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Washington worked hard with the Philippine military to stop the group’s activities.

But overall terrorism in the Philippines has declined since former President Rodrigo Duterte – now in the custody of the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity over his “war on drugs” – passed a sweeping antiterrorism law in 2020.

Before, only individuals carrying out actual violent terror attacks were prosecuted, Banlaoi said – but the law allowed authorities to also prosecute people who endorsed or promoted violent activities, and provided support to militant groups like funding, shelter, or logistical assistance.

The law made it much harder for these groups to receive funding – with many now “on the run” and “having difficulties,” Banlaoi said.

The government also implemented a multipronged approach to cracking down on extremism – using municipal governments and organizations to conduct community outreach and drive down local support of terrorist groups.

They also negotiated peace deals with a number of militant groups – which agreed to halt violent activity and transition to civilian life in exchange for greater autonomy and self-government in Mindanao.

These measures have had tangible effects. In the 2025 Global Terrorism Index, the Philippines ranked 20th out of 79 nations, on a scale measuring the impact of terrorism. By contrast, in 2019 – before the law came into effect – it had ranked 9th.

That’s not to say the danger is gone.

Some militant groups which inked peace deals are still armed, with rogue elements that may still be active. “The threat of terrorism is not disappearing because there are still existing armed groups willing to mount terrorism activities,” Banlaoi said.

Jessie Yeung, CNN