Australian Terror Mastermind Mohammad Ali Baryalei Killed in Middle East

Fugitive Australian terrorist Mohammad Ali Baryalei has been killed in the Middle East, according to reports. Authorities are still in the process of confirming the report.

The most prominent Australian leader for the Islamic State was allegedly the mastermind behind a suspected random beheading in Sydney. It was believed that Baryalei was in Syria. ABC's Peter Lloyd reported that the news of Baryalei's death had emerged on social networking websites hours back. Mostly "fan boys" of the Islamic State were circulating the report, he said. However, the news was later confirmed by a militant source. The Australian government has not contradicted the report of Baryalei's death.

Baryalei was apparently in a battlefield recently as an Oct. 22 picture showed that he was carrying a rocket propelled grenade. However, it is yet to be known where exactly Baryalei had been killed. It is suggested that he had been killed shortly after the photo had been taken in a battlefield in Iraq or Syria. The Australian quoted Abdul Salam Mahmoud aka Yassin Ali, who had confirmed Baryalei's death on Facebook. "I've just received the news that our beloved brother Mohamed Ali who was recently strongly attacked by Australian media has been martyred," he wrote, "He was a brother a friend and our leader in street dawah Sydney." He also wrote that Baryalei's martyrdom would be celebrated with "tears of joy and sorrow." Allah should "accept him as another green bird," He prayed.

Baryalei was often accused by the Australian government of recruiting young Australians for extremist activities in the Middle East. He was believed to be the one whom the September raids were carried out for in Sydney. He was also accused to be the one to recruit young Australian Omar Azari and instruct him to abduct and assassinate random people on camera. The death of the senior most Australian military commander for the Islamic State may influence how young Australians are going to be recruited for extremist activities in future.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop did not confirm Baryalei's death as the agencies were still working on the verification of the reports. She asked young Australians not to get provoked by the "false and toxic ideology" of the terrorists.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au