Terror threat ‘low’ in parts of Mindanao after Bondi beach attack – AFP

MANILA, Philippines — The threat of terrorism in parts of Mindanao is now low, the military said on Wednesday, amid news reports branding the island as a hotspot for terror activities of groups linked to Islamic State (IS). 

Mindanao gained this negative attention following the visit of Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, to Davao City a month before they allegedly opened fire on an Australian beach, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more.

“Terrorism threat levels in several areas of Western and Central Mindanao have shifted from high to low,” said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Francel Margareth Padilla in a press briefing on areas with reported terror group presence.

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Padilla also noted that the security situation in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has “markedly improved.”

IS-linked groups weakened

This assessment is based on the decline in the strength and capabilities of local terror groups.

Padilla said membership of IS-linked local terrorist groups has declined from 1,257 members in 2016 to just 50 in 2025.

READ: Bondi Beach suspects spent nearly a month in PH before attack – BI

The last major IS-linked attack occurred in 2017 during the siege of Marawi, which killed more than a thousand people—including militants, soldiers, and civilians.

Since then, at least 10 leaders of IS-linked groups were killed, which Padilla said created a “leadership vacuum” within these groups that she described as “fragmented and largely defensive.”

“The loss of senior figures has weakened command structures and reduced the ability of these groups to plan, direct, and sustain operations,” Padilla said.

Why train here? 

Because of this, Padilla said terror groups in the country no longer have the capacity to conduct recruitment efforts, large-scale attacks, or even training activities.

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Citing security sources, ABC also reported that the father and son duo underwent “military-style” training upon arrival in the country.

When asked as to the gunmen’s specific activity, Padilla said: “We will not speculate on their activities. Our intelligence operatives are at work.” 

Both of them arrived in Davao City on Nov. 1 and left the country on Nov. 28, Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval said on Tuesday.

However, AFP public affairs chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad is not convinced that the duo went to the country to have military-style training.

“Let me just point out that training cannot be acquired in just [less than] 30 days … if you are to undergo marksmanship,” Trinidad said.

Trinidad noted that the 50-year-old gunman was a gun club member with a licensed firearm, so he would have known how to use such weapons anyway.

“I don’t see any purpose for them going here in the country to do those training,” he also said. /dl