A jailed Indonesian preacher has reportedly urged his followers to fight with the Islamic State group
As the Islamic State group, formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, continues its armed campaign in Iraq and Syria, its notoriety is drawing fans and fighters from as far as Asia and the Pacific.
Authorities and experts have warned that the growing popularity of the armed group in the Far East, driven in part by social media, could pose a long-term security threat to a region that has already been battling home-grown armed groups for decades.
"The security threat from Muslims travelling to fight in the Levant is already with us," said Rodger Shanahan, national security and Middle East expert at the Australian National University.
"The longer term threat will come from the linkages that these fighters establish with disparate groups," he told Al Jazeera. "In the future, we may see the existence of another global jihadist network of people who made connections in Syria and Iraq."
"The seeds of quite a few security issues are being sown in Syria and Iraq at the moment," Shanahan, of Australia's Lowy Institute for International Policy, said.
Keep up the good work Bibi. Keep digging your own grave.
