On the same day U.S. President Barack Obama is vowing to do more fight jihadists in Syria, there are reports an Ottawa man has fled Canada to join the extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS).

The National Post reports former Hillcrest High School and University of Ottawa student John Maguire, 23, is now the centre of an RCMP investigation. 

It’s believed Maguire, described as a loner, converted to Islam and then left Ottawa for Syria in early 2013. 

On what is believed to be Maguire’s Twitter account, he refers to himself as "Yahya Maguire" @YahyaMaguire, with tweets dating back to 2012. He writes, "how can I sleep with what is happening in Syria", "There is NOTHING worthy of ANY sort of worship except ALLAH" and "Remember death."

The RCMP won’t comment on the investigation.  In a statement to CTV RCMP Sergeant Greg Cox wrote, “The RCMP does not generally confirm nor deny who or what may or may not be the subject of an investigation.”

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Department is also refusing to comment on Maguire only issuing a general statement to CTV “Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada has advised Canadians to avoid all travel to Syria, and for those in Syria to leave, since April 23, 2011. We previously advised Canadians to avoid non-essential travel to the country.”

Shocked by the allegations, a former Hillcrest High School classmate described Maguire to CTV Ottawa “He kept to himself and was pretty quiet… He was a pretty normal guy, you could joke around with him and he would crack jokes from time to time. ”

ISIS is the same group responsible for the slaying of American journalist James Foley. 

Intelligence experts say the terrorist group has launched an aggressive social media recruitment campaign, targeting young men and women mostly between the ages of 15 and 25, from countries like Canada, the United States and Western Europe.

“Western women, they come with their western passports, they’ll fall under our radar screens” says author of Bombshell: Women and Terrorism Mia Bloom.

“ISIS has a media department which is very savvy in making videos and propaganda” says Richard Barrett with private intelligence organization The Soufan Group.  He says ISIS promises new recruits luxury items and cash “They have huge resources in Iraq and Syria. They control oil fields; exhort taxes from businesses and so on. They really have a lot of money.”

The concern is ISIS recruits like Maguire still hold passports to their home countries like Canada and U.S. and one day will return home, bringing with them their terrorist ties and extreme beliefs.

"Their behavior in the future becomes pretty unpredictable and their loyalties as well are pretty unpredictable” says Barrett.