Islamic State aims attack bigger than Sydney siege: terror expert

IS is trying to spark a terror attack in Australia that would eclipse the Sydney Siege, a counter-terrorism expert has warned.

Bondi is listed as one of the suburbs IS wants targeted in a lone wolf terrorist attack.

ISLAMIC State hopes to spark a lone wolf terror attack that would eclipse the Sydney siege, a counter-terrorism expert says, after new propaganda urged its followers to kill Australians in some of the country’s most iconic locations.

In a four page article in a new online propaganda magazine published on Monday, IS encourages its followers — “particularly those in Australia” — to kill everyday people in public acts of terror.

“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,” the article published in seven languages urged.

“Stab them, shoot them, poison them, and run them down with your vehicles.”

But Deakin University professor Greg Barton said despite the extremely specific threats, the chance of a terrorist attack on Australian soil had not changed, and there was no heightened cause for public concern.

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

“This is a reminder that this is unrelenting and Australia is certainly in their frame.”

Prof Barton said the organisation was “very good at propaganda” and would be targeting Australia due to its geographic isolation.

Counter-terrorism expert Professor Greg Barton says hundreds of Australians are sympathetic to IS. Picture: Andrew Tauber

The December 2014 Sydney siege, in which lone wolf Man Monis held patrons and staff at the city’s Lindt Cafe hostage for nearly 24 hours before being shot dead, garnered the kind of worldwide attention the terrorist organisation craves.

“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.

“I don’t know if there’s any particular reason we get a four page article but it certainly puts us in the same frame as France, the United States and Britain.

“The fact that it is published in Europe speaks to the fact they reach around the globe.

“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.”

The Sydney Opera House was one of the iconic sites IS wants targeted.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says admits Australians face a “real threat” of terrorism on home soil.

“As Daesh [Islamic State] comes under more and more pressure on the battle field in Syria and in Iraq, as it is rolled back, as its territory is being taken back, it will resort to terrorist activities outside of the Middle East,” he told reporters in Laos.

“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.”

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

The article alleged Melbourne man Ezzit Raad, who was convicted of a plot to blow-up the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2005, died while fighting for IS in November 2015.

It paid tribute to both him and Melbourne teenager Adam Dahman, also known as Abu Bakras, who carried out a suicide bombing in Iraq in 2014, and urged others to “follow in the path of these righteous souls”.

Australia’s largest sports stadium, the MCG, was also mentioned as a potential target.

Minister assisting the Prime Minister on counter-terrorism, Michael Keenan, said the propaganda plea reflected the desperation of the terrorist organisation, as it continued to lose territory in the Syrian conflict.

“The release of (Islamic State’s) new magazine is another desperate attempt to attract more supporters, in the face of substantial territory losses and dwindling numbers of foreign fighters,” he said.

He also said Australia’s national security agency, the Australian Federal Police, was well equipped to deal with terrorist threats.

“Australia’s law enforcement and security agencies are the best in the world,” he said.

The AFP did not respond to requests for comment.

Prof Barton said for police the new publication served as a reminder of the continued threats they were up against.

However, he said there was no heightened cause for alarm for members of the public

“For police, this is not a game changer, it’s just a reminder of what they are facing and I’m sure it’s weighing heavily on them,” he said.

“For the average Australian, you shouldn’t really let this mess with your head because that’s what they want,” he said.

“Nor is it something trivial and inconsequential but for the general public, there are many more things we need to focus on, the general Australian citizen doesn’t need to be mindful of this.

“What it does serve as a particularly chilling reminder is that the recruiters after young Australians are still out there, trying to tip some Australians over the edge very quickly.”

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