A counter terrorism expert has told an inquest how a Muslim teenager was radicalised by Islamic State before he attacked two police officers in Melbourne and was shot dead.
Numan Haider, 18, posted a photo of himself on Facebook wearing camouflage and a balaclava while holding a flag associated with Islamic State five days before he was fatally shot on September 23, 2014.
In response to some of his friends' questions about why he was supporting the militant group, Haider claimed it was "the dogs of AFP who are declaring war on Muslims", the Victorian coroners court heard on Friday.
Deakin University expert Greg Barton says the context of that photo is important in understanding the teen's motivation in stabbing two counter-terrorism officers outside Endeavour Hills Police Station.
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The photo was posted on the same day as Australia's largest counterterrorism operation, with more than 800 officers involved in pre-dawn raids in Sydney.
Footage of those raids - filmed by NSW Police - was circulated widely, and included "distressing" images of women being forced outside their homes, Professor Barton said.
The expert says the teen's anger towards law enforcement is not unusual for vulnerable young men who have been radicalised online by Islamic State to target representatives of governments whose policies they oppose.
Two days before Haider died, Islamic State also called on its supporters to kill soldiers and civilians in Australia, the US, and Europe.
He believes that message was a turning point for radicalised IS supporters.
"People don't quickly get to the position where they're prepared to take the life of someone else," Professor Barton told the inquest.
Haider had also told a friend, a Shia Muslim, "Don't worry bro, I'm not going to kill you" on Facebook when the friend objected to Haider's support of IS, which is affiliated with Sunni theology.
The expert says ISIS has shown it is skilled at convincing young people to abandon family and cultural relationships in favour of its own exclusive social network and political ideology.
"We need to recognise the vulnerability of young people, particularly those who have been targeted," Mr Barton said.
But authorities still don't know exactly how people like Haider are radicalised, even if their vulnerability and social disconnect explains why it happened.
"We don't know the real masterminds. We don't know all the mechanisms for radicalisation," Professor Barton said.
The inquest continues.
