Police said today it is beyond their jurisdiction to retrieve eight Malaysian children who are being trained as Islamic State (IS) fighters in the Middle East.

"We always do our best to convince people, particularly those who are already in Iraq and Syria, to abandon the beliefs and followings (of IS) there.

"But it is beyond our jurisdiction to go there and bring them back," inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.