A still image taken from a purported Islamic State video released September 13, 2014 of British captive David Haines before he is beheaded. (Reuters Photo)

MOSCOW, March 24 (Xinhua) -- More than 23,000 webpages containing propaganda of the Islamic State (IS) were deleted or blocked by Russian telecommunications watchdog Roskomnadzor, local newspaper "Izvestia" cited the service as saying Friday.

The IS terror group is known for its successful online propaganda and social media recruitment, targeting primarily young people from around the world, and its online activities in Russia focus on the spread of video and printed materials.

"A major portion of the banned online content was found on the Russia social network 'VKontakte' and on YouTube. Both web platforms had deleted or blocked such kind of content," said "Izvestia".

The watchdog's action came after the Prosecutor General Office defined extremist webpages and entrust Roskomnadzor to block them.