Terror threat

Expert: Malaysian IS fighters unlikely to return home

Malaysian Islamic State (IS) militants fighting overseas are more likely to stay on or fight elsewhere rather than return home, an analyst has said.

As the terror group lost its so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria, foreign fighters are said to have dispersed to regroup elsewhere in the two nations.

Some authorities have described them as “running to the desert”.

They are also suspected to have returned home, where those caught by the authorities are made to face the law or sent for rehabilitation.

Others may have gone to other IS wilayats (regions) such as the group’s so-called Khorasan Province, covering swathes of land in Afghanistan and Pakistan, some experts said.

Southeast Asian security analyst Alexander Macleod said the Malaysian Special Branch’s anti-terrorism unit was collaborating with other regional and global agencies to keep track of terrorists entering the country.