Two British jihadists high on the CIA's kill list of Islamic State operatives have been linked to Melbourne man Neil Prakash, regarded as Australia's top recruiter of would-be fighters wanting to join the extremist group.
Ranked third on the list, Junaid Hussain is believed to have played a key role in the online radicalisation of at least one of the men behind the attack on a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest in Garland, Texas.
The only Islamic State members higher on the kill list are the group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Mohammed Emwazi, the extremist known as Jihadi John, the masked executioner who featured in a number of beheading videos.
Several US officials, according to CNN, have confirmed there was "intense" interest in taking out Hussain, who operates under the alias Abu Hussain al-Britani, and who has links to Prakash.
Another British Islamic State fighter, Raphael Hostey, who is a close associate of Prakash and has named the Melbourne man as his "co-worker", is also on the list.
"Apparently I'm in the top 10 on the US hit list, therefore I must be doing something right. Ask Allah ... to protect your brothers," Hostey, also known as Qa'qa'al-Baritani, boasted in a post to Twitter on Tuesday.
One of his very first posts since returning to Twitter after the suspension of a previous account was to promote Prakash as a top recruiter for Islamic State.
"Please follow my partner in hijrah affairs [information withheld]," the post said.
"Hijrah" refers to travelling to Iraq and Syria to join the Islamic State.
Hostey also advises followers that Prakash is the Islamic State operative to contact in his absence.
"Contact him if I'm unavailable," the profile information on his Twitter page says.
According to CNN, the CIA's interest in Hussain, described as a "key ISIS operative", was prompted by the growing threat from lone-wolf attacks in the US.
Some reports have alleged Hussain has been appointed to lead the so-called Cyber Caliphate, a cell of hackers recruited by Islamic State.
Hussain is also alleged to have circulated online a hit-list containing the addresses and photos of US military personnel, according to CNN.
He is also suspected of hacking the Twitter and Facebook accounts of the US Central Command.
Prakash has been regarded by local authorities as Australia's most prominent recruiter of foreign fighters.
The 23-year-old, of Cambodian descent and raised in Melbourne, has been listed in Islamic State material as number four on the group's list of recruiters.
Last week, Prakash paid tribute online to fellow jihadist Khaled Sharrouf, prompting fresh speculation Sharrouf had been killed.
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