Attacker is shot by police after he charges at them with a knife

The knife-wielding Somali terrorist who was shot dead by police after crashing a car on Melbourne's Bourke Street and setting it on fire, before stabbing three men, one fatally, was named as Mohamed Khalif.



The lone wolf attacker, who also goes by the name of Hassan Shire, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition but later died from his wounds.



Officers shot him in the chest after his Holden Rodeo loaded with gas cylinders hit a pedestrian as it mounted the kerb and exploded outside Target near the Swanson Street intersection about 4.20pm on Friday.



Video shot from the scene showed the frenzied attack that carried on for more than a minute, beginning with Khalif charging at two police officers, punching one through a vehicle window and lunging at them with a knife.



ISIS have since claimed the attack as their own via the propaganda platform, releasing a statement saying 'the perpetrator of the operation... in Melbourne... was an Islamic State fighter and carried out the operation... to target nationals of the coalition' fighting IS, Amaq reported, allegedly quoting a jihadist security source.



But ISIS have previously claimed responsibility for attacks that were later discovered to be unrelated to the organisation.



Khalif's 21-year-old brother, Ali Khalif Shire Ali, was arrested in November of 2017 in relation to a foiled terror attack in Federation Square, also in the heart of Melbourne.



Police intercepted plans to attack the cultural arts precinct on New Years Eve.