Bengaluru: Two Indian nationals from South India are allegedly part of the new era of international jihadism, which has been ushered in by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and the Indian government is trying to repatriate them with the help of international agencies, said a top intelligence officer.

Two college students from Chennai, who went missing, were reportedly drafted as jihadis by the ISIS early this year to wage a war against the Shia-led government in Iraq. Intelligence sources said the names of these two jihadis, who were sent to Syria for training by their mentors from Tamil Nadu, is classified information with the Intelligence Bureau and the R&AW.

“The government is trying hard to get them back and is seeking their family support. The government is in constant touch with the parents of these two students,” said the officer.

They were reportedly recruited by Haja Fakkurudeen Usman Ali, a Tamil Nadu-born Singapore permanent resident, who worked as a manager of a supermarket in Singapore and left the country for Syria in January this year, sources said. He reportedly visited Iraq and Syria in 2013 and was trained under some Chechen jihadis, said the officer.

Ali was indoctrinated by another Tamil Nadu-born Singapore permanent resident – Gul Mohamed Maracachi Maraicar, originally from Cuddalore but moved to Singapore in 2008, where he was working with a global IT giant. He was stripped of his permanent residency by Singapore and repatriated to India in February this year.

Ali and Maraicar reportedly first met in Cuddalore in 2007 and the two clicked because of their jihadi leanings.