A Malaysian militant was killed in Syria at the weekend, bringing to 19 the total number of Malaysian fighters killed in Syria and Iraq during the past two years, a senior police official said today.

Abdul Ghani Yaacob, 31, was killed on April 17 during a battle in Al Khair province, police counter-terrorism deputy director Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay told reporters.

Abdul Ghani joined Islamic State militant fighters in Syria in December, Ayob Khan added.

Nearly 100 Malaysian militants are thought to be fighting alongside Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, lured to join the war through social networking sites, he said.

Dozens of other Malaysian Islamic State supporters have been charged in court over the past two years in the predominantly Islamic South-East Asian state.

Malaysian authorities have been on high alert since the January terrorist attacks in the neighbouring Indonesian capital of Jakarta.

- dpa