DHAKA: It has become known for horrific images of beheadings and torture, but the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria group is trying to lure foreign recruits to its ‘caliphate’ with promises of adventure, homes, jobs - even love.

Using sophisticated recruitment techniques, the militants have attracted hundreds of supporters from Western countries to the swathes of territory they have seized in Syria and Iraq.

In the beginning, these efforts focused on luring young men to join the ranks of fighters.

But ISIS is increasingly targeting young Western women, as dramatically illustrated last month when three British teenaged girls ran away from their London homes to join the IS.

Experts say many are shocked by what they find in IS territory, but by then it is too late.

‘IS sells its Islamic utopia to these young men and women,’ said Lina Khatib, head of the Carnegie Endowment’s Middle East Centre in Beirut, reports The Straits TImes.

‘It tells them that this is the only real Islamic state in the world, and that they can become important figures in it.’

Experts say the number of Westerners who have traveled to the ‘caliphate’, which is more than twice the size of Jordan and home to about six million people, is about 3,000, including roughly 550 women.

BDST: 1130 HRS, MAR 08, 2015