Seven men believed to have ideological links to the two shooters behind Sunday’s deadly terror attack at Bondi Beach have been arrested in Sydney’s south-west, Australian broadcaster ABC reported on Friday.
According to the report, New South Wales (NSW) police arrested the suspects on Thursday in the suburb of Liverpool. The men had travelled from the neighbouring state of Victoria in two vehicles.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told ABC Radio Sydney that there was “some indication that Bondi was one of the locations they may be visiting.” However, he clarified that authorities did not yet have definitive links between the men arrested and the attackers, aside from what he described as “potential commonality in some thinking.”
The arrests followed Sunday’s attack in which two gunmen opened fire on crowds celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach. The attack claimed the lives of 15 people and left dozens injured, with most of the victims reported to be Jewish.
Security forces shot one of the attackers dead at the scene, while the second was injured, arrested and later charged with 15 counts of murder and 40 counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder.