IN ITS latest effort to reach out to supporters in South-east Asia, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has posted photos and a video of Malay-speaking children training with weapons.

The footage depicts a group of at least 20 boys studying, praying, eating and undergoing defence and weapons lessons in territory held by the terrorist group.

It comes amid warnings by experts that ISIS is beefing up its external operations wing and courting further support in the region.

“There has been a surge in Indonesian- and Malay-language material posted by ISIS online,” Mr Jasminder Singh, a Student Research Analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told The Straits Times.

“There have been previous videos featuring Arab and Central Asian children, and it is clear they are now reaching out to target supporters in South-east Asia.”