IS claims to have infiltrated Britain's defence ministry

The Islamic State group on Sunday claimed to have a mole within the British ministry of defence and threatened to reveal military secrets in an online statement.

A group calling itself the "Islamic State Hacking Division" made the claim after publishing details of over 70 American military personnel allegedly involved in the US predator drone programme against the militant group.

The names, addresses and photographs of the US Air Force personnel were circulated online by the group, which urged supporters to "kill them wherever they are, knock on their doors and behead them, stab them, shoot them in the face or bomb them."

It was not immediately clear how the group obtained the personal information of US military personnel, but experts have suggested that the information was compiled from open source data such as news articles and military newsletters.

"In our next leak we may even disclose secret intelligence the Islamic State has just received from a source the brothers in the UK have spent some time acquiring from the Ministry of Defence in London as we slowly and secretly infiltrate England and the USA online and off," said the group's statement.

The British ministry of defence declined to comment on the group's claim.

"While we don't comment on cyber threats, Britain is a world leader in cyber security and we are investing more than ever before in the UK's capabilities to protect our national interest," said a ministry spokesman.

"Our increasing defense budget means that we can stay ahead of our adversaries in cyberspace while also investing in conventional capabilities."

Meanwhile, a US military spokesman said they are aware that IS and other terrorist organisations periodically purport to release personal information on US military personnel.

"We take proactive measures to protect our service members and their families and keep them apprised of changes to the security situation," said Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway.

"We will not comment on the authenticity of the information in question, and this will have no effect on operations against Isil," Galloway said using another acronym for IS.

The IS group last year published a similar list of US soldiers and called on its supporters in America to kill them.