Twitter suspended more than 10,000 accounts linked to Islamic State militants and their supporters in a single 24-hour period in a fresh crackdown on those 'tweeting violent threats'.

Jihad-watchers noticed thousands of accounts vanishing from the social network last week, most of them claiming to be linked to the extremists currently terrorising vast swathes of the Middle East.

Now, after questions were asked about what led to the largest ever one-off cull of ISIS-affiliated accounts, Twitter has confirmed that its purge was prompted because they were being used by tech-savvy jihadis to issue threats of violence.

Online savvy: Jihad-watchers noticed thousands of accounts vanishing from the social network last week, most of them claiming to be linked to the extremists currently terrorising vast swathes of the Middle East

Twitter does not publish data related to the accounts it suspends, but NDTV Gadgets reported that the social network's so-called 'violations department' suspended approximately 10,000 accounts used by ISIS militants or supporters of the terror group on April 2.

Speaking on condition of anonymity amid fears for his safety, the representative said the cull was prompted in part by the 'large number of reports' received by online activists and members of the public.

Without doubt this is a reference to the 'Operation Anti-ISIS' campaign launched by the online 'hacktavist' collective Anonymous, who encouraged members to find and expose thousands of accounts connected with ISIS and report them to Twitter authorities en masse.

While the social network says it remains committed to the platform being used as a symbol of free speech, it says it will not tolerate accounts tweeting sickening messages promoting violence.

ISIS - the largest and wealthiest terrorist organisation in history - has long used social media to groom and enlist new recruits, spread sickening propaganda, and glorify rape and massacre.

Sick: Twitter's so-called 'violations department' suspended approximately 10,000 accounts used by the ISIS militants themselves (pictured) or by supporters of the terror group, on April 2

Last month it was revealed that web-savvy militants fighting for ISIS could control as many as 90,000 Twitter accounts worldwide, allowing them to spread their sickening propaganda with ease.

The terror group is able to 'exert an outsized impact on how the world perceives it' because of its shrewd use of social media and sheer number of online followers, terror experts have concluded.

Recommendations in the report by the Washington-based Brookings Institute report include governments and social media companies working together to find new ways to tackle the problem of pro-ISIS accounts spreading horrific murder videos and images and jihadist rhetoric.

While Twitter has had success in suspending the accounts, they are effectively playing an exasperating game of whack-a-mole as banned users almost-immediately set up another account.