China and its Central Asian neighbors may face increasing Islamic terrorism threats after their citizens returned home from fighting in Iraq and Syria, warned the head of an anti-terrorism group on Thursday.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) Regional Anti-Terrorism Agency is monitoring suspected militants who have traveled from terrorist hot spot regions.

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The group's director, Zhang Xinfeng, added that the body is closely monitoring the radicals' online activities, where he said they discuss Islamic extremism, recruit foreign fighters and plot terror attacks.

Apart from China, SCO includes Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. All have citizens who are known to have joined Syrian and Iraqi terrorist groups, and radicals in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Associated Press reported.

Zhang refused to give more details, but said authorities believe several dozens of Chinese nationals who are active members of terrorist groups are now back in the country and constitute a major security threat in the region, Xinhua reported.

China is known for its history of non-participation in international efforts to fight against terrorist groups and have long reiterated its stance of other countries' sovereignty in combating terrorism.

However, on Thursday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying confirmed that Beijing is willing to cooperate with the United States and its international allies, including European countries and Arab states, in their fight against terrorism spread by the Islamic State group or ISIL.

China's primary domestic terrorism concerns come from the Xinjiang region, which is home to the Uighur Muslim minority. The indigenous group have reportedly been waging violent uprisings against Chinese authorities in the region, various reports said.

Earlier this year, President Xi Jinping has mobilized Chinese troops to arrest and detain 800 Uighur minorities.

AP reported that some Uighurs are believed to have joined Islamic extremists in Pakistan, although it is unclear whether they have joined the armed conflict there.

The SCO will be discussing anti-terrorism measures in a summit that will be held this week in Dushanbe, Tajikistan's capital.

The summit's goal, Zhang said, is to remove the terrorism threat before it crossed borders, according to AP.

TagsIslamic terrorism, Chinese Islamic terrorism, ISIL, ISIS