The activity of jihadists affiliated to Islamic State and Al-Qaeda has been spotted in Latin America as they recruit fighters and promote extremist ideology among local Muslims, Russian GRU chief Igor Kostyukov said.

"Among the new risk factors is the emergence of jihadist training camps and hideouts in the region," Igor Kostyukov, the head of Russia's main intelligence directorate (the GRU), said during the annual Moscow Conference on International Security.

The jihadists currently operating in Latin America are linked to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and Al-Qaeda, he added.

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"They recruit fighters to bolster their ranks in the Middle East and North Africa, collect funds and promote extremist ideology among the region's six-million Muslim population," Kostyukov warned. He didn't name specific countries where the jihadist camps have been discovered.

Last year, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales Cabrera said that around 100 people linked to IS and other groups were arrested in his country and deported to where they came from.

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