DFAT unable to confirm reports Australian killed in Syria

CONSULAR officials in Cairo are investigating the possible death of an Australian man killed in Syria, believed to be from Melbourne.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been unable to confirm reports from Syria that the man was killed.

But a departmental spokeswoman told ABC the man was believed to be Melbourne-based Turkish-Australian Yusuf Toprakkaya.

A video posted online by a group with links to Syrian rebels shows the man mixing explosives, and riding in a convoy with rebels.

The video identified the man as "Abu al-Walid - The Australian".