Sydney Opera House featured in terror mag

SYDNEY, July 21 (UPI) -- Authorities warned Australians to be alert but did not increase security after an al-Qaida-linked magazine published a photo of the iconic Sydney Opera House.

Attorney General Robert McLelland said Australia's terror-threat level would not change as a result of the Opera House photo appearing in the online English-language Inspire magazine's regular bomb-making section, Open Source Jihad.

The medium-threat level, which Australia has been under since 2001, means a terrorist attack could occur.

The magazine is reputed to be published by associates of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a militant Islamist organization primarily active in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The group is named for al-Qaida and says it is subordinate to that group.

The photo of the Sydney Harbor opera house, one of the 20th century's most distinctive buildings, was carried in the magazine with no comment, other than "In this section: Training with AK (Part 3) Making Acetone Peroxide."

McLelland said he asked the regulatory Australian Communications and Media Authority to remove the material, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The opera house, which each year plays host to more than 1,500 performances attended by some 1.2 million people, is always under 24-hour surveillance, authorities said.