South Korean Teenager Suspected of Joining Islamic State in Syria

MOSCOW, January 18 (Sputnik) — South Korean authorities announced Sunday that a South Korean teenager could have joined the Islamic State in Syria, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Officials were reported to have come across the pictures of IS flags on the computer of a South Korean youth.  The young man disappeared in Turkey and is suspected of having crossed the border to Syria in order to join the radical group, the news agency reported on Sunday.

The Islamic State, a terrorist organization that controls large parts of Iraq and Syria, poses a serious threat not only to Middle Eastern states, but also to various countries worldwide.

Thousands of people, especially youth, have left their homelands and joined the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria to wage jihad and carry out terrorist attacks.

“Currently IS offensive operations are limited to northern Iraq and Syria, but there is potential for the conflict to spill over with regional and global impacts […] with the return of those who have been part of the fighting and their local support networks,” Professor Greg Barton from Monash University said.

He also stressed the importance of understanding the methods which the Islamic State uses to promote its radical ideology and attract followers all around the world. This would help to improve preventive measures as well as successfully reintegrate former fighters, Professor Barton claims.