Australia's most wanted terrorists 'killed in Iraq'
Authorities are working to verify that two of Australia's most senior Islamic State fighters, Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar, have been killed in Iraq.
There have been unconfirmed reports the Sydney men, who travelled to Syria in 2013, and then to Iraq, were killed in the past week by a drone strike.
A person close to one of the men's families said the pair died in fighting in the Iraqi city of Mosul.
It is believed Elomar's body has been recovered but Sharrouf's remains have not.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Monday evening that authorities were yet to confirm the deaths of Australia's two most wanted terrorists.
"Our security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies will be working to verify these reports but I stress it's very difficult to gain the information necessary given that it is a war zone," Ms Bishop said.
Sharrouf and Elomar gained notoriety last year when they posed in photos holding the severed heads of Syrian government soldiers.
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The two men have also been accused of involvement in the executions of captured Iraqi soldiers, of which images were broadcast via social media and the internet.
A son of Sharrouf's was also photographed holding a severed head.
Ms Bishop said the two men were "notorious for their violence and barbarity".
"Both Mr Elomar and Mr Sharrouf rose to international infamy as a result of pictures they'd posted of themselves holding up the heads of pro-Syrian fighters," Ms Bishop said.
"We don't have any information at present to verify whether or not these reports are correct but once we're in a position to do that then we can look at other considerations, but I stress we've not yet been able to verify these reports.
"Our intelligence and security and law enforcement agencies are working to do that."
Sharrouf, who served a four-year jail term for his role in the 2005 Pendennis terror plot, is believed to have recently survived a rocket attack on his car in Syria that killed three people.
Also known as Abu Zarqawi al Australi, Sharrouf left Australia on his brother's passport in 2013.
Sharrouf's wife, Tara Nettleton, has reportedly been seeking to return to Sydney from Syria with the couple's children, including the son photographed last year holding a severed head.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott insists the family should be shown no leniency.
Sharrouf and Elomar have also been accused of enslaving women from the Yazidi religious minority in northern Iraq.
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