Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the deadly terror attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach was driven by Islamic State (IS) terror group's ideology.
"It would appear that this was motivated by Islamic State ideology," Albanese said, as per excerpts shared with news agencies by his office from a radio interview he gave to the Sydney channel of the Australian Broadcasting Cooperation (ABC).
He also called the attack "meticulous, calculated, cold-blooded", and said investigation so far indicated that the two gunman, a father-son duo, had acted alone.
"The ideology that has been around for more than a decade that led to this ideology of hate, and in this case, a preparedness to engage in mass murder," Albanese said, according to the AFP report.
He added that attacker Naveed Akram, whose accomplice and father Sajid Akram was gunned down by cops, was drawn to authorities attention earlier "because of his association with others".
Earlier, Albanese said that tougher gun laws would be taken up at a National Cabinet meeting, signalling a possible tightening of Australia's already strict firearms rules
Stressing the need for continuous oversight, the prime minister added, "People's circumstances change. People can be radicalised over a period of time. Licences should not be in perpetuity."
Albanese said the federal government would present a proposal aimed at strengthening monitoring mechanisms. "The Australian government will take to national Cabinet this afternoon a proposal to empower agencies to examine what can be done in this area," he said.
As per New South Wales police commissioner Mal Lanyon, 15 people were killed in the attack, plus the gunman; the victims included a 10-year-old girl.