Australia's most senior ISIS member Mohammad Ali Baryalei has reportedly been killed in fighting in the Middle East.

AUSTRALIA’S most senior Islamic State member Mohammad Ali Baryalei has reportedly been killed in fighting in the Middle East.

News of the death was first tweeted about 11 hours ago by a British-based researcher Shiraz Maher, from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at Kings College in London.

Baryalei was the catalyst for the largest terrorism raids in Australian history that took place last month.

There are reports that, Mohammad Ali Baryalei, an Australian member of Islamic State has been killed in Syria. — Shiraz Maher (@ShirazMaher) October 28, 2014

The 33-year-old is the most senior Australian member of the extremist group Islamic State, which has been fighting in Iraq and Syria. He has been credited with recruiting more than half of the estimated 60 Australians fighting for the terror group, also known as ISIS.

Sources say the government will have a hard time verifying Baryalei’s death; Australia doesn’t not have an embassy in Syria and relatives were often reluctant to speak or had been left in the dark.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said today that the government had not yet confirmed his death. It is believed he died four or five days ago.

A spokesman for Attorney-General George Brandis told news.com.au: “As Julie Bishop said, we are still trying to verify it.”

But the apparent death of Australia’s most senior IS member and top recruiter may only be a temporary blow to the group’s efforts to lure fighters from this country to the jihadist cause.

“If he has in fact died, it may put a bit of a break on the recruitment (drive) but there’s always someone ready to fill in those shoes and resume those duties. It’s wrong to assume that someone’s death will put a dent in them (IS).”

It is believed that at least 15 Australians have been killed in the conflict against IS since it began.

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Mohammad Ali Baryalei attempts to convert Australians to Islam Mohammad Ali Baryalei, Australia's most senior Islamic State member tries to convert Australians to Islam.

Baryalei was believed to be in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the “capital” of Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate.

A one-time actor and former Kings Cross bouncer, Baryalei left Australia for Syria via Tokyo in April 2013.

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A Sydney friend, Abdul Salaam Mahmoud, posted on Facebook on Tuesday night that Baryalei had been “martyred”.

“I’ve just received the news that our beloved brother Mohamed Ali who was recently strongly attacked by Australian media has been martyred. He was a brother a friend and our leader in street dawah Sydney.

“Last time I met him he hugged me very tightly and gave me one advice he told me “ Stick to Qyam Al-Lil/night prayer” then he left to Bilad Al-Sham.

“Today we shall celebrate his martyrdom with tears of joy and sorrow.

“Oh Allah accept him as another green bird.”

Some of the Australian fighters Baryalei allegedly recruited include Khaled Sharrouf, Mohammed Elomar, Yusuf Ali, Amira Karroum and Caner Temel.

The terror raids last month were also sparked after a call was allegedly intercepted between Baryalei and Guildford man Omarjan Azari, 22, during which he advised the man to behead a random member of the public in Sydney’s CBD.

Azari was arrested during the raids and has been charged with conspiring to commit a terrorist act.

Ms Bishop said today the government would be “unrelenting” in finding the details of where Baryalei has been and who he has contacted.

“Australians who leave this country to fight in Iraq and Syria are putting themselves in mortal danger,” Ms Bishop said.

“They have a great risk of being killed. They are committing offences against Australian laws.

“They are adding to the suffering of the people of Iraq and Syria and they are likely to become experienced in the ways of terrorism.” She urged young Australians not to fall for the “toxic ideology” of IS.

Before he fled to the Middle East, Baryalei was a leader in the “Street Dawah” movement in which members preached their puritanical version of Islam on the streets of Sydney.

The government’s foreign fighters laws passed the Senate on Wednesday.

The laws will make it a crime for an Australian to travel to a designated terrorism hot spot and give added powers to intelligence services.

Baryalei speaking on the streets of Sydney 2012 Mohammad Ali Baryalei, Australia's most senior Islamic State member, speaks on the streets of Sydney in 2012. Credit: YouTube/Street Dawah Australia

Before he emerged as Australia’s most senior ISIS member, Baryalei had a colourful past, working as a Kings Cross bouncer and part-time actor, even scoring a role in Underbelly: The Golden Mile, in which he played a paramedic.

He reportedly had a ferocious cocaine habit in his Kings Cross days, when he spent most night guarding seedy strip club Love Machine.

“He was a big party animal,” a former friend told ABC. “He drank a lot, was a big smoker, he liked drugs, loved women and could be violent.

“He was protective of his friends and that could make him very violent.

“He gambled a lot ... He once won $8,000 or $9,000 on the pokies, then played it back down ... and he loved cocaine.”

More to come.