KUALA LUMPUR: AT least 15 Malaysian “fighters” in Syria have an active presence in cyberworld to promote their extremist ideologies in a bid to extend their network and lure young minds into becoming jihadists, experts said.

A research revolving online extremism in Southeast Asia conducted by the leader of the Informatics Team at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, Nur Azlin Mohamed Yasin, revealed that the “fighters” were detected online in the first quarter of last year.

…Nur Azlin used the term “fighters” for individuals whom they were unsure of their group identities, and “terrorists” for those who were fighting with groups recognised and dubbed as terrorist organisations, such as Islamic State (IS) and Jabhat al Nusra (a branch of al-Qaedaoperating in Syria and Lebanon).