Heavily armed police officers detain a man in Sydney, Australia in December last year, subsequently charging the man and a 15-year-old boy with conspiracy to conduct an act of terrorism. Reuters File Photo
MELBOURNE: Several iconic Melbourne venues have appeared in a recent Islamic State (IS) terrorist group propaganda video, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
The video shows confronting images of beheadings, corpses and missiles in the Middle East before cutting to a shot of Melbourne’s cityscape.
The Melbourne Airport, a Qantas passenger jet, Flinders Street Station and St Paul’s Cathedral appear in the video just after a shot of a mosque being blown up.
Counter-terrorism authorities said they were aware of the video but not of any direct threats to Melbourne.
Michael Keenan, Australia’s Minister for Justice and Minister assisting Prime Minister on Counter Terrorism, said the security measures in place in Melbourne were world class.
“All Australians and Victorians in particular should feel very confident that our efforts are doing what they’re required to do and that is keeping our country safe from this fanatical terrorism organisation,” Keenan told News Limited on Friday.
A spokesperson for Victoria Police’s counter-terrorism command said the video was “similar in content” to material that had previously been released by IS.
“While such materials are disturbing, Victoria Police is not aware of any direct threat to the Victorian community or infrastructure at this time,” a spokesperson told Fairfax Media.
Greg Barton, an Islamic politics expert at Deakin University, said the footage was intended to encourage homegrown terror attacks.
“They’re hoping, it would seem, by putting Australian scenes in a propaganda video, somebody in Melbourne or Sydney will look at that and be tipped over the edge into trying to do something,” Barton told Australian television media.
“One of the things we have to worry about is not so much attacks on aircraft mid-flight but attacks at airports. The attacks at Brussels airport and Istanbul Airport this year brought that truth home.” – Bernama