Authorities in Ireland are investigating reports that a former Catholic altar boy has died in an Islamic State suicide mission.

The group's Amaq news agency has reported that 49-year-old Terence Kelly died after driving an armoured truck packed with explosives into Shia militia southwest of the Iraqi city of Mosul on Friday.

The city is under siege from Iraq forces, Shia militias, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and other groups backed by US-led coalition airstrikes who launched a campaign to retake the city from Islamic State last month.

Image: Another image purportedly shows the vehicle exploding outside Mosul

A statement released by the group said: "Brother martyr Abu Osama Irelandi, may Allah accept his soul, attacked a group of animals from the Shia militia in the village of Ghzayel al Kabir."

One picture released by the group shows Mr Kelly dressed in black, wearing a white beard and carrying a Kalashnikov rifle while standing in front of an armoured car, while another picture purports to show the vehicle exploding.


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Mr Kelly converted to Islam 16 years ago after he was jailed in Saudi Arabia for selling alcohol and he set up al Qaeda support group 'Islam for Ireland' upon his return.

Amaq, propaganda channel of Isis claims the Irish suicide bomber killed 10s of Shia fighters in S.W. Mosul in the explosion, not confirmed pic.twitter.com/RsaB73NkRp — Fazel Hawramy (@FazelHawramy) November 5, 2016

Nicknamed Taliban Terry, or Khalid Kelly, and referred to by Islamic State as Abu Osama Irelandi, the former nurse from Dublin is a high profile jihadi who appeared on Ireland's Late Late Show in 2003 with Islamic cleric Anjem Choudary.

Referring to the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks Mr Kelly said: "It's easy to speak about these people in a bad way but you have to look at the oppression they suffered over years and years.

"These 19 Muslims answered a cry (for help) from the Palestinians, the Iraqis and the Afghanistanis."

He once said he hoped to see "the black flag of Islam" flying over the Irish Assembly and has declared Barack Obama an "enemy" of Islam. "Personally, I would feel happy if Obama was killed," he said.

Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs said it was monitoring reports of Mr Kelly's death and a spokesman said: "The Department is aware of reports concerning an Irish citizen in Iraq and is seeking to clarify the situation."