Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order
The Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order (Arabic: جيش رجال الطريقة النقشبندية Jaysh Rijāl aṭ-Ṭarīqa an-Naqshabandiya), also called the Naqshbandi Army, was one of a number of underground Ba'athist and Sufi militant insurgency groups fighting U.S.-led Coalition forces in Iraq. Media frequently refers to the group by the initials JRTN, a romanization of its Arabic name.[11] Supreme Command for Jihad and Liberation, technically the name of the umbrella organisation to which JRTN belongs, is also often used to refer to JRTN specifically.[12]
Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri † (founder, 2006–2020)
Salah Al-Mukhtar (2020–2021)
30 December 2006 – May 14 2021 [1]
Intifada Ahrar al-Iraq (2012-13)[2]
Re-establishment of Ba'athist Iraq
Northwestern and western Iraq
Sunni Triangle
Baghdad Belts
1,500 to 5,000 (2011)[3]
MCIR
Free Iraqi Army (until 2014)
Anbar Tribal Councils
Guardians of Religion Organization[4] (alleged)
Turkey (alleged)
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It was named for the Naqshbandi Sufi order. The JRTN's ideology has been described as "a mix of Islamic and pan-Arab nationalistic ideas",[13] with Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri being described as "the hidden sheikh of the Men of the Naqshbandi".[14]
History[edit]
The precise details about the emergence of the JRTN are unclear, although it is generally assumed that the group was established in the summer of 2003 and consists of former members of Saddam Hussein's army, including ex-members of Republican Guard, former Ba‘ath Party officials, former security and military intelligence agents (with connections to al-Douri) who seek to fight and remove Coalition forces from Iraq and to restore the old order under Ba'athist ideology.[15]
Although JRTN would only emerge as a group in 2006, JRTN members had been involved in anti-coalition actions earlier in the war, such as the 2003 attack on the Al Rasheed Baghdad Hotel, and the 2004 First Battle of Fallujah, where several Naqshbandia clerics associated with the JRTN were among the casualties.[16]
JRTN originally emerged as a group in December 2006, following the execution of Saddam Hussein. The group's original focus was on protecting Naqshbandis and Sunni Sufis in Iraq from the oppression they were facing from radical Salafi Islamist insurgent groups, particularly al-Qaeda in Iraq, whose tactics were opposed by JRTN's Sufi ideology.[16][17]
Between its founding in 2006 and the 2011 U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, JRTN planned, financed, and facilitated militant attacks against U.S. forces and military bases.[18] JRTN's last attack on U.S. forces would occur on November 3, 2011 when 1st Lt. Dustin D. Vincent was shot dead by JRTN sniper fire in Kirkuk Province. His killing – one of the last U.S. casualties in Iraq war – was captured on video by Naqshbandi Army and posted online.[19][20][21]
On April 25, 2013, insurgents from the Naqshbandi Army completely captured the town of Sulaiman Bek, about 170 km (106 mi) north of Baghdad, after heavy fighting with security forces, only to relinquish control of it a day later, while escaping with weapons and vehicles.
Following the Hawija clashes, JRTN units in Nineveh began to mobilise, emerging as a force that could potentially play a role in a new low-level Sunni led uprising. Immediately after the Hawija clashes, JRTN units were able to take temporary control of a neighborhood in the 17 July area of western Mosul.[22]
On January 18, 2014, Reuters reported that after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and its tribal allies overran Fallujah and parts of the nearby city Ramadi on January 1, the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order was one of the rebel groups present in the city.[23] JRTN has not claimed any attacks since 2016.[24]
Terrorist designations by the United States[edit]
The U.S. Department of State has designated Jaysh Rijal al-Tariqiya al Naqshabandiya (JRTN) as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224, and as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).[33] On 22 December 2009, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated "the Iraq-based insurgent group Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al-Naqshabandi (JRTN) for threatening the peace and stabilization efforts in Iraq" saying, "JRTN has committed, directed, supported, or posed a significant risk of committing acts of violence against Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces and is being designated today pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13438, which targets insurgent and militia groups and their supporters".[34]