Australian police take seriously on terror attack from IS

Police in Australia on Tuesday said they will take seriously on the threat posed by "lone wolf" terrorists, in the wake of a frightening statement from an Islamic State (IS) publication calling for public executions at famous landmarks.

The article was published in the first edition of terror magazine Rumiyah, and it calls on Australian followers of IS to kill citizens "even in their backyards."

Police commissioner Graham Ashton said the threat would still be taken seriously, especially in the lead up to finals for the two major sporting competitions, the Australian Football League (AFL) and the National Rugby League (NRL).

"If we need to beef up that (security) presence, we will," he told the press on Tuesday.

"There is nothing at this stage to suggest," he said.

"This is propaganda from IS. If anything does emerge of any specificity it will be acted upon quickly by our Joint Counter Terrorism Strike Team."

Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews said while the national threat level for terrorism remains at "probable," Victoria Police was taking the threat "very seriously."

The state's capital, Melbourne, is set to host a number of AFL and NRL finals over the next month.

"We take every threat -- every word -- that is published about terrorism or acts of violence very seriously," Andrews said. Endit