Australia not to "succumb" to IS in the wake of US terror report: gov't

The Australian government said on Thursday that it "won't succumb" to Islamic State (IS) pressure in the wake of a U.S. Homeland Security report.

The U.S. report said Australia was ranked equal third as the prime target for IS terror attacks on Western nations.

The report said Australia was third on the list for most known or thwarted terror plots in the Western world, behind just the United States and France.

Responding to the report, Australian Justice Minister and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Counter Terrorism, Michael Keenan said the report wouldn't change how Australians go about daily life.

He said the government was "very aware" of all potential threats to Australians, and said while it was "impossible" for the government to guarantee an attack would not happen on Australian soil, counter-terrorism bodies would continue to stay ahead of potential attacks.

"They target us because they hate our lifestyle... We obviously won't succumb to that sort of pressure," Keenan told the press in Adelaide on Thursday.

"We know that IS has been targeting Australia for some time and we've been very aware of the challenges that possesses."

"(But) it's completely impossible for a government to provide blanket guarantees on the fact that attacks won't occur here."

The report also said that IS was attempting to "crowdsource" terrorism, meaning nations like Australia which are not connected by land to IS hot spots in the Middle East could still be at risk from "home grown" terrorists.

According to reports, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been in with talks with former CIA director Leon Panetta about the rise in the number of terror attacks in recent months. Endit