Islamic State hopes for attack to 'eclipse Sydney siege'

Terror group Islamic State has urged lone-wolf killings of Australians in their backyards, their suburban streets and public places like the Sydney Opera House and the MCG.

"Stab them, shoot them, poison them, and run them down with your vehicles. Kill them wherever you find them," a newsletter titled Rumiyah says.

"Kill them on the streets of Brunswick, Broadmeadows, Bankstown, and Bondi. Kill them at the MCG, the SCG, the Opera House, and even in their backyards."

Deakin University professor Greg Barton said the terrorist organisation would be hoping to ignite a terror attack big enough to "eclipse the Sydney siege".

“This is a reminder that this is unrelenting and Australia is certainly in their frame," he said.

Speaking to news.com.au, Professor Barton noted that Islamic State were “very good at propaganda”.

Deakin University's Professor Greg Barton. Source: AAP Images

He believed the organisation would be targeting Australia due to its geographic isolation.

“We have popped up in a way that is disproportionate to our size, we have been in their sights for some time and there are hundreds of people in Australia who are sympathetic to them,” he said.

“They would like (an attack) in Australia because the Lindt Cafe siege got a level of international coverage a similar incident in another place wouldn’t have gotten, if it had occurred in Turkey, for example.

“But they want something bigger because Man Monis was someone they didn’t know.”

However, Professor Barton said that despite the extremely specific threats, the chance of a terrorist attack on Australian soil had not changed.

“In one sense nothing has changed with this publication. It’s not one of those defining moments,” he said.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan has called the newsletter another "desperate attempt" by the terror group to attract more supporters ,in the face of substantial territory losses and dwindling numbers of foreign fighters.

Sheikh Man Haron Monis, gunman behind the Lindt Cafe siege in Martin Place. Source: AAP Image/Sergio Dionisio

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull described the threat as "disturbing".

"We need more than ever to cooperate closely, to engage intimately with our neighbours in the fight against counter-terrorism," he said.

“We do have to be very alert to the actions of these lone actors.

“Individuals, who for a variety of reasons may be radicalised, often associated with mental illness, frankly, can be radicalised very quickly and engage in very destructive lethal conduct as we saw in Nice for example.”

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton urged the public not to be alarmed and said much of the material had previously been published in Arabic.

"At this stage there is nothing of any concern," he said on Tuesday in Melbourne, where a terror plot planned for Anzac Day was thwarted last year.

"This appears to be propaganda ... at this particular time."

The Sydney Opera House was one of many iconic landmarks named in the newsletter. Source: AAP Images

Mr Ashton said the only new content appeared to be a poem encouraging followers to commit acts of violence in several Australian locations.

A similar publication had been published in French, German and Indonesian, Mr Ashton said.

In each of those versions country-specific locations were substituted.

"There's nothing at this stage that would suggest that there's any specific threats that we need to action immediately," he said.

"The national threat level 'probable' hasn't changed."

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said authorities were nevertheless taking the publication seriously.

"These threats are all too real," Mr Andrews told reporters.

He implored Victorians to continue going about their business.

"That's a sign of strength and sends a very clear message that we will not be intimidated by these sorts of cowardly threats," Mr Andrews said.

"We are all in this together."

Victoria Police has liaised with the AFL and Mr Ashton encouraged people to enjoy the upcoming finals at the MCG.

"If you are planning on going to the footy this weekend you can do so confidently," he said.

Mr Keenan said Islamic State had lost close to half the territory it held in Iraq, up to 20 per cent of territory in Syria with recent reports indicating numbers of fighters had fallen to record lows.

"ISIL morale is imploding and their brand is crumbling. ISIL regularly calls for attacks against the West and this is not the first time they have called for attacks against Australia," he said in a statement.

The magazine carries an article on Melbourne man Ezzit Raad, convicted of a terror plot in Australia who subsequently travelled to the Middle East to join IS.

Mr Ashton wouldn't comment on the claim in the publication that Raad had been killed fighting in Syria.

It said he had been fighting in the Syrian city of Manbij.

According to the government, 65 Australians have died fighting with the group.

Rumiyah urges revenge for the death, describing Australia as a land cloaked in darkness and corrupted by "kufr, fornication, and all forms of vice".

Speaking as the head of Deakin’s global Islamic politics school, Professor Barton said though Australia had been threatened by Islamic State before, it was the first time it had given such specific details as suburb names and iconic landmarks.

Professor Barton said the threat should serve as a reminder that Islamic State recruiters who were after young and vulnerable Australians were still active.

"They're still out, trying to tip some Australians over the edge very quickly.”

The national terror level has not changed; it remains at a rating of 'probable'.

News break – September 7