IS confirms 'war minister's death in Iraq

Islamic State's "minister of war" has been killed in an airstrike in Syria, according to the US, while the militant group says he died fighting in Iraq.

Islamic State's "minister of war" has been killed in an airstrike in Syria, according to the US. (AAP)

A news agency that supports Islamic State said the group's senior operative Abu Omar al-Shishani (the Chechen) had been killed in combat in the Iraqi city of Shirqat, south of Mosul.

The Pentagon said in March that Shishani, which it described as the group's "minister of war", had likely been killed in a US airstrike in Syria.

Reuters could not independently verify the statement from Amaq, which Islamic State regularly uses to issue news.