Bondi gunmen threw explosives at start of attack and practised shooting weeks before, police allege

BBC:

The suspected gunmen in the Bondi Beach attack threw explosives at the start of the deadly incident and had practised shooting weeks before, according to new court documents.

They allege the pair “meticulously” planned the attack for several months and, two days prior to the shooting, visited Bondi for reconnaissance.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens more injured when two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration on 14 December. Explosives, including a “tennis ball bomb”, failed to detonate, according to the documents.

Naveed Akram, 24, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one of terror. A second gunman – his father, Sajid Akram – was shot dead by police at the scene.

Last week, a temporary suppression order was made on the release of the police fact sheet to protect the identities of the survivors. It was revoked on Monday and the documents were published with some redactions.

Included are the details of several videos tracing the movements of the alleged gunmen in the months, days and hours before the attack.

One video – taken on one of their mobile phones in October – is described as showing the men sitting in front of an image of an Islamic State group (IS) flag.

They are heard making statements about their motivations for the attack and condemn “the acts of ‘Zionists'”, police say.

Naveed Akram is also “recorded appearing to recite, in Arabic, a passage from the Quran”.