Roundup: Australian couter-terrror agencies "on alert" after IS threat: PM

The Australian government on Wednesday said it was taking Islamic State's (IS) most recent online threat to Australia very seriously, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirming the nation's counter-terror agencies were working hard to maintain safety at major landmarks and sporting stadiums.

On Tuesday, local media reported that an IS magazine had called on Australian "lone wolf" terrorists to kill Australians at famous landmarks as well as in "their backyards."

"Kill them on the streets of Brunswick, Broadmeadows, Bankstown, and Bondi. Kill them at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), the Opera House, and even in their backyards," the article in the Rumiyah magazine said.

On Wednesday, Turnbull described the article as a ploy to make the terror organization seem larger than it is, after it was reported IS had been forced to retreat from strongholds in the Middle East.

The prime minister said as IS's influence in the Middle East wanes, the group's leaders will continue to encourage more "lone wolf" style attacks to maintain pressure on the west.

"As (Islamic State) comes under more and more pressure on the battlefield 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 the press.

"The capacity of IS, of course, is much less than they proclaim it to be."

Despite the positive progress coalition forces were making in the Middle East, Turnbull said Australians must remain vigilant as counter-terrorism bodies work to disrupt any potential attack on domestic soil.

"But we do have to be very alert to the actions of these lone actors individuals who, as I've described in the national security statement last week, for a variety of reasons, may be radicalized," Turnbull said.

"(They are) often associated with mental illness, frankly, can be radicalized very quickly and engage in very destructive, lethal conduct, as we saw in Nice, for example."

In addition to the prime minister's comments, the nation's Minister for Counter Terrorism, Michael Keenan, said the powers given to counter-terror bodies in Australia were continuing to keep Australians safe, despite the constant threat of terror.

He said despite the magazine mentioning football stadiums and tourist attractions, major events would be safe.

"People do need to be mindful that we are living in a security environment that is worse than it used to be two years before, but we do have agencies that we've given powers to, that we've given resources to, that are capable of protecting us from this threat," Keenan told the Nine Network on Wednesday morning.

"We've given (counter-terror organizations) resources and we've given them extra powers to deal with this and we do take appropriate measures to make sure that any footy final, or any place where there'd be a lot of people gathering does have appropriate protections," Keenan said. Endit