SYDNEY, December 15. /TASS/. Australian police believe that one of the perpetrators of the terrorist attack that occurred on Sunday, December 14 in Sydney is linked to the terrorist group “Islamic State” (IS, banned in the Russian Federation). This was reported by ABC television channel, citing police sources.
According to the channel, investigators from the Joint Counterterrorism Group believe that the militants who shot at people had “sworn allegiance to the terrorist group ISIS.” ABC sources noted that an IS flag was found in the attackers' car and that one of them – 24-year-old Naveed Akram – was questioned by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) several years ago “about his close ties to the Sydney-based terrorist group Islamic State.”
Earlier, ASIO director general Mike Burgess noted that one of the attackers was known to the agency, but, according to the agency, “did not pose an immediate threat to the public”.
Two men opened fire on people near Bondai Beach in Sydney on Sunday night, December 14, during an event marking the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. According to police, more than a thousand people were present at the scene at the time of the incident, most of them families with children. The attack, later classified as a terrorist attack, left at least 15 people dead and 40 others injured. One of the attackers was shot dead while being captured, the second was injured and hospitalized in critical condition.
