Four people in the central city of Zhezqazghan have been sentenced for recruiting fighters to the Islamic insurgency in Syria.

A court on July 22 found the four guilty of propagating extremist views and sentenced them to prison terms between six and 12 years.

Investigators say the four men had intentionally propagated extremist views among Muslims in mosques in Zhezqazghan, persuading them to go to Syria for "jihad."

The sentences were pronounced one day after another court in Kazakhstan’s southern city of Shymkent had sentenced on similar charges another group of four to prison terms ranging from five to nine years.

Online sites have reported on hundreds of men and women from Central Asia and Caucasus countries fighting in the ranks of the Islamic insurgency in Syria.

Based on reporting by KazTAG and Interfax