"The Jaysh al-Tariq al-Naqshabandia (JRTN) is a Sufi insurgent group largely comprised of ex-Ba’ath Party members. It was formed by Izzat Ibrihim al-Douri in 2006 in response to the execution of Saddam Hussein. After Hussein’s death, many of Iraq’s remaining Ba’athists coalesced around Douri, the most senior remaining Ba’athist leader in the country, forming the basis of the JRTN. During its prime years of activity from 2013-2016 the group expanded to become one of the most powerful insurgent organizations in Iraq, second only to the Islamic State (IS). Despite the two groups’ almost diametrically opposed ideologies, the JRTN and IS have worked closely with one another on multiple occasions, most notably in the capture of Mosul in June of 2014. As of April 2019, there has been no recent activity from the JRTN, however the group is still listed as a current Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of State." Stanford University