Smail Ayad (born 1987) was a French national who killed one person and wounded two others in a knife attack at a backpackers hostel in Australia on 23 August 2016 in an apparent terrorist attack; he shouted Allahu akbar during the attack.
Biography[]
Smail Ayad was born in 1987 in France to a Muslim family, and he headed to go backpacking in Queensland, Australia in 2016. He befriended fellow backpacker Tom Jackson from the United Kingdom, and he may have developed a romantic interest in backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung, another British backpacker. On 23 August 2016, Ayad attacked backpackers at the hostel with a knife while shouting Allahu akbar, stabbing Ayliffe-Chung to death in front of 30 people before also attacking Jackson and an employee; a dog was also killed in the incident. Ayad assaulted police as they tried to arrest him, but he was apprehended and charged with the crimes.