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A mass taking pictures that left 15 individuals lifeless at Sydney’s Bondi Seashore was “a terrorist assault impressed by Islamic State,” authorities mentioned Tuesday.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Australian authorities say the 2 suspects in Sunday’s assault on a Jewish vacation celebration had been motivated by the Islamic State group.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
A whole lot of individuals had gathered for an annual beachside occasion marking the primary night time of Hanukkah when the pair opened hearth, killing at the least 15 individuals and injuring dozens extra. Now vigils are being held to recollect the victims.
INSKEEP: Kristina Kukolja is at Bondi Seashore in Sydney, the place crowds have gathered. Welcome again.
KRISTINA KUKOLJA: Thanks, Steve.
INSKEEP: What are you seeing and listening to there?
KUKOLJA: Properly, I am standing subsequent to a makeshift memorial not removed from the place Sunday’s assault occurred. And it is a cool Tuesday night right here, and round me, there’s a sea of lots of who’ve come to pay their respects to the victims. I have been watching as individuals slowly and respectfully make their approach by means of the small streets approaching Bondi Seashore, many carrying flowers. And so they’re from all walks of life, of all ages, members of the Jewish group but additionally the broader Australian group. And there is a very serene feeling right here with the sound of the waves within the background. However there’s additionally a heavy police presence, and I have been listening to police automobile sirens and seeing flashing lights and the heavy roadblocks within the background. And it is all only a reminder of the tragedy that occurred not very removed from right here solely 48 hours in the past.
INSKEEP: And a reminder that the investigation continues. What are you studying there?
KUKOLJA: There’ve been some important developments within the investigation, sure. New South Wales police have mentioned that improvised explosive gadgets and two what they known as selfmade Islamic State flags had been present in a automobile linked to one of many males, the son who’s at present in hospital in police custody. His father was shot lifeless by police on Sunday. Additionally they mentioned the counterterrorism investigation would now take a look at why the 2 males visited the Philippines final month and the locations they might have traveled to. Now, the Philippines Immigration Bureau has advised NPR that the boys arrived within the nation collectively in early November and reported their closing vacation spot as Davao on the southern island of Mindanao. It says they left the nation in late November. The bureau has recognized the daddy as an Indian nationwide and a resident of Australia. The son is an Australian citizen. And Australian authorities have reiterated that at this level, although, there is no proof that different individuals had been concerned within the assault.
INSKEEP: Some individuals right here have been within the gun management debate in Australia. How is that evolving within the days after this assault?
KUKOLJA: We have seen Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, along with state and territory leaders, decide to quick motion to tighten Australia’s gun legal guidelines. And the measures which are being thought-about now embrace limiting the variety of weapons an individual can personal and the size of time licenses are issued for and, as properly, making citizenship a situation for holding a gun license.
INSKEEP: We additionally heard on NPR yesterday a member of an Australian Jewish group who alleged that the federal government had been very gradual to reply to antisemitism over the previous couple of years. How’s the federal government answering that?
KUKOLJA: The prime minister has been criticized by some members of the Jewish group over what they see as a failure to deal with antisemitism within the nation and hold the group secure. And certainly, Australia has seen an increase in assaults, in incidents concentrating on the Jewish group because the October 7 assaults on Israel and the warfare in Gaza that started in late 2023. However the prime minister has rejected that criticism. He says now could be the time for the nation to come back collectively, and he is pledged to work to eradicate hate, violence and terrorism in Australia.
INSKEEP: Reporter Kristina Kukolja, thanks a lot.
KUKOLJA: Thanks.
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