An official mouthpiece of the Islamic State in Syria (IS) has released videos of Indonesian-speaking children undergoing military training, in what analysts warn is part of an expanded recruitment drive in South-East Asia.

 

The two-minute video was posted on the internet over the weekend and is purported to be a teaser for a longer piece.

 

“There has been a surge in Indonesian and Malay-language material posted by Isis online,” S Rajaratnam of the School of International Studies was quoted as saying in the Straits Times of Singapore today.

 

“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,” he added.

 

The video showed a group of about 20 children undergoing religious education, in addition to rifle drills, hand-to-hand combat training, and running with what appear to be Russian-designed AK-47 assault rifles.

 

The children appear to be about 10 years old.

 

Although the video and the website of the group that produced it is in Indonesian, the group claims to be the “Malay language media division” of the militant group.

 

The Straits Times quoted unnamed analysts saying the move to claim that it is Malay-speaking suggests a defiance of the borders of nation states.

 

It is estimated that some 500 fighters from the South-East Asian region have joined IS so far, the report said.

 

Some of these are known to be Malaysian. The police had previously identified them to be involved in the videos of brutal executions, and stopped others attempting to join.

“They want to seek financial support, and to attract Indonesians and Malaysians to migrate to the caliphate,” Barometer Institute analyst Robi Sugara was quoted as saying in the Straits Times report.