SYDNEY: A Sydney mother has abandoned her two children and fled to Syria for a new life with the self-styled Islamic State group, becoming one of more than 100 Australians who have joined the militants, according to a newspaper report.

The Australian government said it was deeply disturbed by the report and that it was monitoring the situation closely.

The Sydney Daily Telegraph said Jasmina Milovanov, a 26-year-old Muslim convert, left her children, aged five and seven, with a babysitter earlier this month and never returned. It cited her ex-husband as saying she sent a text message telling him she was in Syria.

“The only thing I can think about is my children. I can’t believe she left these two beautiful children. My son was saying in the days afterwards that he hoped ‘my mum is OK’,” said the husband, who was not named.

“Before she (went) I talked to her (about her extreme Facebook posts). I said this is extreme, stupid. I was warning her about who she hangs out with.”

Milovanov is Facebook friends with former Melbourne woman Zehra Duman, who is known in Australia as the “jihadi bride recruiter” and uses social media to entice women to join the militant group.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2015

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