Prime Minister Tony Abbott has issued yet another blunt warning to Australian foreign fighters following the reported death of Sharky Jama.
"You are a danger to others, you are a danger to yourself. Don't do it," he told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.
The prime minister said the government was tackling violent extremism in a range of ways but it was happy to work with the Somali community to ensure others weren't lured to the Islamic State "death cult".
Jama was reportedly shot after joining Islamic State militants last year.
His father Dada Jama confirmed his death to SBS Radio Somali broadcaster Ibrahim Mohamed, who spoke with the family on Wednesday.
Mr Mohamed said Dada Jama had received a phone call on Monday, saying that his son had been shot.
"He was told by his friends," Mr Mohamed said.
Jama was a "caring, giving" person: modelling agency
The head of Sharky Jama's former modelling agency says the Melbourne man could have gone far in the industry.
Stephen Bucknall, the CEO of FRM Model Management - the Melbourne agency that represented Jama - told SBS Jama was a "caring, giving" person with a lot of potential.
"He was professional and very photogenic...We had high hopes for him and we were hoping to get him into the international market," he said.
"After we heard he’d joined ISIS, obviously we had to take him off the books. But the whole thing was a big shock to the agency and the staff."
He said as soon as he heard of Jama's death, he contacted staff and his wife with the news.
"It was a tearful and heartwrenching moment for everybody involved," he said.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) told SBS the death had not been confirmed.
“The Australian Government’s capacity to confirm reports of deaths in either Syria or Iraq is extremely limited," the spokesman said in a statement. "Due to the extremely dangerous security situation, consular assistance is no longer available within Syria."
Meanwhile friends and family have paid tribute to Jama over social media.
"Rest in peace my handsome lil cousin!" wrote a relative named Habiba Warsame over Facebook. "All them beautiful memories and time we shared I shall keep dear to my heart. May Allah bless your soul and enter you jannat al-firdows."
"May Allah place him in jannatul fardows and may he guide ur family through this tough time sis," a person commented on the status. "He died a shaheed!" (martyr), commented another.
Somali community reacts
Melbourne's Somali community says it is shocked by reports of Jama's death.
Somali Community leader Dr Hussein Haraco, who has known the Jama family for 10 years, said they were in shock and had no idea he was planning to fight with IS.
"There was no evidence he was becoming radicalised and no one was expecting that," Dr Haraco said.
Dr Haraco said the family only knew Mr Jama was in the Middle East when they received a call from him in August 2014.
"There was no evidence he was becoming radicalised and no one was expecting that."
Chairperson of the African think Tank Dr Berhan Ahmed, who was the 2009 Victorian Australian of the Year, said Jama was an energetic boy and role model for young people.
"He had so much potential, and to see him going over there begs a lot of questions to be asked as a community and a nation," Dr Ahmed told the Macquarie Radio Network.
A spokesman for DFAT told SBS that Australians who became involved in overseas conflicts were putting their lives in "mortal danger".
"Any Australians fighting with non-state militia in Syria or Iraq should end their involvement in the conflict now and leave the conflict zone," the spokesman said.
Fear of attack in Australia 'well-founded'
The news came as a Lowy Institute report said the government's "troubled relations" with Australia's Muslim community as hampering efforts at countering extremism.
The report, released on Thursday, said the large number of Australians fighting in Syria and Iraq represents a "serious national security threat" but that the risk of an attack on home soil could be mitigated by the right policy response.
"Returned foreign fighters have been involved in many of the most serious jihadist plots in the West, including in Australia," the report said.
"Returnees from Syria have already engaged in terrorist plots in Europe, and the large number of Australians involved with groups such as IS (Islamic State) and Jabhat al-Nusra raises well-founded fears of an increased threat at home."
"Returned foreign fighters have been involved in many of the most serious jihadist plots in the West, including in Australia."
While much of the responsibility in dealing with the threat will lie with the police and intelligence services, the report said, it added that programs aimed at countering violent extremism (CVE) need to be a core element of the response.
The report said "questions remain" as to how any new CVE approach will be implemented by the government, and that "troubled relations with Australia's Muslim communities mean that its efforts to counter violent extremism are not off to the strongest of starts".
A successful CVE approach should draw on the talent that already exists within relevant communities, the report said, but that "community co-operation has been undermined" by a lack of information about changes to the government's approach, including funding of grant schemes.
- With AAP
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