Malaysia Serves as Transit Point for Chinese Nationals Joining IS

Malaysian Home Minister was informed of the country's role as a point of transit to Iraq and Syria by China's Deputy Minister of Public Security during their meeting earlier in the day.

MOSCOW, January 21 (Sputnik) — Over 300 Chinese nationals have crossed into Syria and Iraq through Malaysia to join the Islamic State (IS), the Malaysian Home Minister said Wednesday.

According to Malaysian state-owned news agency Bernama, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was informed of the country's role as a point of transit to Iraq and Syria by China's Deputy Minister of Public Security Meng Hongwei during their meeting at his office earlier in the day.

"This is because ties exist at the international level between terrorists in China and those in other countries in the Southeast Asian region," Bernama quoted Hamidi as saying.

Hamidi also expressed his commitment to tackling this issue jointly with his Chinese counterpart.

The expansion of the Islamic State militant group that seized vast areas in Iraq and Syria is currently among the major global challenges. According to US Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) estimates, the group has about 30,000 fighters.

A US-led international coalition started carrying out airstrikes against IS targets in Iraq in August 2014, extending the strikes to Syria in September.