MUMBAI: The three Kalyan boys who are still in Iraq, have told the National Intell-igence Agency, that they “regret” their decision to join the ISIS and want to be brought back like Areeb Majeed.

This is following the agency’s extensive talks with the trio over the last week through Areeb Majeed, who is currently in custody of NIA officials in Mumbai. The boys have been pleading with the NIA to be brought back to the country, in telephonic conversations arranged by Areeb.

“They have said they took the wrong decision and are regretting the step. The violence there has increased and they said that they too wish to return,” said a source from the NIA. Officials said the trio are unanimous in their wish to return and are “scared for their lives”.

NIA officials, meanwhile, had been depending on a PCO in Mosul on which they used to call around a specified time to speak to these Kalyan boys through Areeb, until the number could no longer be reached.

The same PCO had been previously used by the boys to call their families in India, after splitting from the group of pilgrims in Baghdad, and joining the militant group.