Islamic State group chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was reported dead on Tuesday, a day after Iraq declared it had driven the jihadists from their one-time top stronghold of Mosul.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a longtime conflict monitor, said it had heard from senior IS leaders that Baghdadi was dead.

If confirmed, his death would mark another devastating blow to the jihadist group after its loss of Mosul, which Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Monday declared had been retaken from IS after a gruelling months-long campaign.

The Britain-based Observatory's director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that "top tier commanders from IS who are present in Deir Ezzor province have confirmed the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, emir of the Islamic State group, to the Observatory".

"We learned of it today but we do not know when he died or how," he said.

The report could not be independently verified. Baghdadi has been reported killed several times.

Deir Ezzor, in eastern Syria, remains largely under IS control but the group has rapidly lost territory elsewhere in Syria and in neighbouring Iraq.

Abdel Rahman said Baghdadi "was present in eastern parts of Deir Ezzor province" in recent months, but it was unclear if he died there or elsewhere.

There was no official confirmation or denial of the news on IS-run social media outlets.

- Persistent rumours of death -

The US-led coalition fighting the jihadist group in Syria and Iraq said it could not verify the Observatory's information.

"I don't have a clue" about Baghdadi's status, said US Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, who heads the coalition.

"Hope he's deader than a doornail. And if he's not, as soon as we find out where he is he will be," he said in a video call from Baghdad.

Asked if the coalition was examining the claim, its spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon said: "We have professionals who use all information at their disposal to verify reports before we would confirm any allegations."

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday tweeted "Big wins against ISIS!"

It was not immediately clear if that was a reference to Mosul's recapture, Baghdadi's reported death, or both.

There have been persistent rumours that Baghdadi had died in recent months. Russia's army said in mid-June that it was seeking to verify whether it had killed the IS chief in a May air strike in Syria.

The US-led coalition said at the time it could not confirm whether the Russian strike had killed Baghdadi.

With a $25 million US bounty on his head, Baghdadi has kept a low profile but was rumoured to move regularly throughout IS-held territory in the area straddling Iraq and Syria.

The 46-year-old Iraqi has not been seen since making his only known public appearance as "caliph" in 2014 at the Grand Mosque of Al-Nuri in Mosul.

IS destroyed the highly symbolic site before Iraqi forces could reach it as they pushed the jihadist group from Mosul.

Iraqi forces launched their campaign in October to retake Iraq's second city, which was seized by the jihadists during the mid-2014 offensive that saw them take control of large parts of Iraq and Syria.

Abadi announced in Mosul on Monday that the campaign had ended with the defeat of IS in the city, hailing "a victory over darkness, a victory over brutality and terrorism".

- Devastation in Mosul -

The cost of victory has been enormous: much of Mosul lies in ruins, thousands are dead and wounded and nearly half the city's residents have been forced from their homes.

In Mosul's Old City, where buildings lie crumbling and burned-out cars and other debris choke the streets, security forces were still searching for remaining IS fighters.

"What we are doing today is just combing the area and clearing it of sleeper cells," said Staff Lieutenant General Sami al-Aridhi, a senior commander in Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service.

"There are groups that are hiding in shelters," but they surrender or are killed, Aridhi said.

Since the Mosul operation began in October, 920,000 people have fled their homes, only a fraction of whom have returned, according to the United Nations.

Rights group Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Iraqi forces and the US-led coalition of exposing civilians to "relentless and unlawful attacks" in west Mosul.

"Pro-government forces launched barrages of indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks using explosive weapons unsuitable for such a densely populated urban area," Amnesty said.

Amnesty calls for commission to probe Mosul crimes
London (AFP) July 11, 2017 - Amnesty International on Tuesday called for a commission to investigate crimes against civilians in Mosul by all sides in the battle to liberate the Iraqi city from jihadists.

"The horrors that the people of Mosul have witnessed and the disregard for human life by all parties to this conflict must not go unpunished," said Lynn Maalouf, director of Middle East research at Amnesty International.

"An independent commission must immediately be established, tasked with ensuring that any instances where there is credible evidence that violations of international law took place, effective investigations are carried out, and the findings made public," she added in a statement.

Iraq on Sunday declared it had successfully ousted the Islamic State (IS) group from Mosul, from where the jihadists had declared their self-styled caliphate in 2014.

But the victory has left thousands dead and wounded, and the city has been devastated by the fighting since Iraqi forces launched their offensive in October to retake Mosul.

In documenting the conflict between January and mid-May, Amnesty found IS violated international humanitarian law and committed war crimes.

The jihadist group used civilians as "human shields" and "summarily killed hundreds, if not thousands" of people as they tried to flee, hanging victims' bodies in public places, Amnesty said.

The human rights organisation also criticised Iraqi forces and the US-led coalition, stating they carried out "a series of unlawful attacks" in the city.

Pro-government forces used "imprecise, explosive weapons" in the urban conflict and allegedly used disproportionate force, such as a March 17 attack cited by Amnesty in which 105 civilians died in an air strike targeting two IS snipers.

"Iraqi and coalition forces failed to take adequate measures to protect civilians, instead subjecting them to a terrifying barrage of fire from weapons that should never be used in densely populated civilian areas," Maalouf said.

In addition to calling for an independent commission, Amnesty published a series of recommendations for the Iraqi authorities including establishing a compensation programme for civilians.

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