Mobile phone data suggests the Bondi Beach gunmen may have travelled near a region in the Philippines where Islamic State-aligned militants are believed to be operating, a police source has told the ABC.<\/p>\n
It was believed that Sajid and Naveed Akram spent the majority of November in Davao, a city on the island of Mindanao that encompasses areas that have long been plagued by Islamic extremism.<\/p>\n
But a senior Philippines police investigator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly comment, said the pair may have travelled beyond the city.<\/p>\n
“We have also received information they [used a] cell phone in other areas of Mindanao. I think they were twice detected in other areas,” they told the ABC.<\/p>\n
The police source said the phone was detected in M’lang in North Cotabato, a province that borders areas where Islamic extremists are still believed to be operating.<\/p>\n
Shooters visited gun shop and beach resort, police say<\/p>\n
While in Davao City, the gunmen visited locations including a gun shop, a beach resort and an ATM, the police source said.<\/p>\n
One of the places they are believed to have visited was a local outlet of Shooters Guns & Ammo Corp, the largest gun retail franchise in the Philippines.<\/p>\n
“They went to the gun store \u2026 the father was just looking around inside the store. They only visited there,” they said.<\/p>\n
The gunmen also paid a visit to the Seagull White Sand Beach Resort \u2014 about 7.5 kilometres away from their hotel \u2014 as well as an RCBC bank ATM.<\/p>\n
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They also visited an Islamic centre called the Mercy Islamic Foundation, located about a 20-minute walk from the hotel they stayed at, the police source said.<\/p>\n
“We are still trying to find out their activities \u2026 things that they are doing here in Davao City,” the source said.<\/p>\n
“We’re checking the other areas that our sources said they went.”<\/p>\n
Read more on the Bondi Beach shooting:Gunmen may have been ‘waiting to meet someone’<\/p>\n
Police in the Philippines are continuing to investigate the movements of Sajid and Naveed Akram, who visited the country for 28 days just weeks before the attack at Bondi Beach.<\/p>\n
The pair entered the country on November 1 and departed on November 28, spending most of their time in Davao, the largest city on the island of Mindanao.<\/p>\n