Australian teenager features in second Islamic State video

Canberra: An Australian teenage runaway, dubbed the Ginger Jihadist by the media, has been featured in a second Islamic State propaganda video. Australian media reported the latest YouTube video of 17-year-old Abdullah Elmir dressed in Arabic garb and clutching an assault rifle on Monday as the Senate prepared to debate legislation that would simplify prosecuting Australian extremists who fight in the Middle East.

Abdullah vanished from his Sydney home in June, telling his family he was going fishing.

He appeared in his first Islamic State video last week warning that the movement won't stop fighting until the extremists' notorious black flag is flying above every nation.

In the latest video, the son of an Australian-born mother and Lebanese father is surrounded by dozens of black-clad jihadists on a bank of the Tigris River in Mosul in Iraq, News Corp. Australia newspapers reported.

The six-minute clip, entitled "An evening on the banks of the Tigris River in the Province of Nineveh in the Islamic State," shows the movement's followers gathering to eat, pray and then recite religious texts.

The video features several speakers who say they will "strike the necks of the infidel and Arab countries." The Senate is scheduled to sit late today night debating a raft of legislation that would help law enforcement agencies combat home-grown extremists who join groups such as Islamic State. The government expects the legislation would be voted on Tuesday.

The bills controversially create a new offense of traveling to an area of the world deemed by the foreign minister to be a hotbed of terrorism. An Australian who travels to such a place without an acceptable excuse would be guilty of a crime punishable by 10 years in prison.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told Parliament yesterday that at least 70 Australians were fighting with terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. She had canceled 73 Australian passports to prevent jihadists from either flying to the Middle East or returning.

Australian fighter jets are launching airstrikes against Islamic State targets in northern Iraq as part of a US -led coalition and 200 Australian special forces troops will soon enter Iraq to advise and assist local security forces.