Islamic State has confirmed the notorious executioner known as "Jihadi John" is dead, while also calling for more attacks in the West including in Australia.
The terror group, in the latest issue of its online magazine Dabiq, has confirmed the British national Mohammed Emwazi known as "Jihadi John" was killed in November in a drone strike in Raqqa, northern Syria.
Islamic State also calls for more attacks in the West - naming Australia as a target - pointing to the deadly assault in December in San Bernardino, California, by married couple Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik.
"May Allah accept the sacrifices of our noble brother Syed Rizwan Farook and his blessed wife, accept them among the shuhada (martyred), and use their deeds as a means to awaken more Muslims in America, Europe, and Australia," Islamic State said.
"While many continue to do so by undertaking hijrah (migration) to the Islamic State, others do so by defiantly terrorizing the crusaders in their very strongholds."
Farook and Malik killed 14 people and wounded more than 20 others in the December 2 attack. They were later killed in a shootout with police.
The confirmation of the death of Emwazi, who beheaded hostages in videos published by the terror group, comes two months after US authorities announced they were confident he had been killed.
Islamic State said Emwazi was killed on November 12 when the vehicle he was in was hit by an unmanned drone "destroying the car and killing him instantly".
Identified by Islamic State as Abu Muharib al-Muhajir, it referred to him as making "headlines around the world as Jihadi John".
"His harshness towards the kuffar (non-Muslim) was manifested through deeds that enraged all the nations," it said.
Emwazi, a computer programming graduate, was born in Kuwait to Iraqi parents and moved to Britain in 1993.
The 27-year-old first appeared in a video in August 2014 which showed the beheading of American journalist James Foley.
He participated in several more similar videos, during which he was typically clad entirely in black, including balaclava.
As a high-profile player in the IS propaganda machine, Emwazi had become a top target for US and British intelligence agencies.
