Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described the Islamic State as perhaps the most effective terrorist organisation the world has seen.
The prime minister was speaking again about the shocking new video of an IS jihadist beheading American journalist James Foley, who was captured in Syria in 2012.
Mr Abbott was asked whether the British accent of the executioner was intended as a message to the West about the role of foreign fighters in the conflict.
"I have little doubt that the ISIL movement are masters of propaganda. They're masters of social media," Mr Abbott told Fairfax Radio in Melbourne.
"They are probably the most effective terrorist organisation the world has yet seen. That's why it's very important we redouble our vigilance."
Mr Abbott said the 60 or so Australians fighting with IS - also known as ISIL and ISIS - represented only a "miniscule" percentage of the country's population.
But he warned it did not take many people "to do enormous damage to countries".
Mr Abbott is adamant Australia and other Western nations will not commit combat troops to battle IS in northern Iraq.
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