Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has painted an alarming picture of the modern day terrorist in an address to the United Nations Security Council in New York.

Ms Bishop called on a new envoy to address the threat of the new generation of terrorist, who she described as “masters of social media”.

As chair of the Security Council meeting on counter-terrorism, Ms Bishop said there was no more pressing matter of national and international security for Australia than reducing the threat of terrorism.

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“The threat from ISIL, or Daesh, al-Nusra Front and other al-Qaeda affiliated groups is more dangerous, more global and more diversified than ever before,” Bishop told the meeting in New York on Wednesday.

“Terrorists are younger, more violent, more innovative and highly interconnected.

“They are masters of social media to terrorise, and to recruit, and are very tech-savvy.

“They incite each other.

“They communicate their propaganda and violence directly into our homes to recruit disaffected young men and women.”

Bishop used the example of Melbourne 17-year-old Adam Dahman “who grew up in a typical Australian household and played sport for his local high school” and the three Succarieh brothers from Brisbane.

“Recently he (Dahman) travelled to Iraq and detonated his explosives vest in a suicide bomb attack in a Baghdad market place injuring more than 90 people,” Bishop said.

“Young people, like the three brothers from Brisbane.

“One became Australia’s first known suicide bomber killing himself and 35 others at a military checkpoint in Syria.

“The second is currently fighting with al-Nusra.

“The third was stopped by Australian authorities before he got on a plane to join them.”

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Representatives from the 15 Security Council members, including the US, Russia, China, Britain and France, along with other nations such as Saudi Arabia, Syria and Pakistan, took turns in addressing the meeting.

Australia’s ambassador to the UN, Gary Quinlan, also the chair of the UN’s al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee, told the meeting Islamic State’s seizure of oil fields in Syria and Iraq, and the group’s ability to use smuggling routes to sell oil, was earning the terror group revenue ranging from $US846,000 to $US1.645 million ($A1.78 million) a day.

This month, Australia took up the rotating position of president of the Security Council.

At the beginning of the meeting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised Australia’s leadership.

“Let me begin by recognising the global leadership of Australia which this month successfully chaired the G20 summit in Brisbane where I had the honour of participating and is also presiding over the Security Council this month,” Moon said.

— with AAP