Sri Lanka's failure to prescribe the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as the "Islamic State", has hindered taking action against possible supporters of the terror outfit in Sri Lanka, intelligence sources said.

Support for ISIS is still minute in the country. However, possible supporters are spread in several areas in the country, according to intelligence agencies.

In 2015, a Sri Lankan born ISIS fighter was reported to be killed in Syria. In November the same year, a propaganda magazine of the ISIS claimed that this fighter joined the group with 16 others. He was a native of Galewela.

In early January, Sri Lanka acknowledged that 36 of its citizens, including children and women, entered Syria and some of them have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. This acknowledgement came after an intelligence report that 45 Sri Lankans had joined the ISIS.

The Hela Bodu Saviya, a Buddhist Organization affiliated to the JHU, urged the government to ban the ISIS several days ago.

However, the ISIS is still not a banned outfit in Sri Lanka and its websites could be accessed in the country.