Islamic State recruiter and “matchmaker” Tooba Gondal and former Irish soldier Lisa Smith are being held in a Syrian rebel “safehouse” after escaping from a detention camp at the weekend, the Telegraph understands, where they are appealing to come home.

The women are believed to be in a village on the outskirts of Tel Abyad, a town on the Turkey-Syria border which was recently taken by Turkey and allied Syrian militias.

The women walked for several miles with their children after fleeing Ain Issa camp when they were picked up by rebel fighters with the Syrian National Army (SNA), which is carrying out a ground offensive with the Turkish military on Kurdish-held areas.

Both women are thought to have been instrumental in recruiting women to join Isil.

Ms Gondal, 25, lured Bethnal Green schoolgirl Shamima Begum to Syria, promising to help her find a husband in the caliphate.