Supreme Command for Jihad and Liberation


The Supreme Command for Jihad and Liberation is an Iraqi front comprising some 23 militia groups formed in 3 October 2007 and were led by former Iraqi vice president and deputy chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. The name is also often used to refer to the largest militia in the front, the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order, which was commanded by Douri himself.
The formation of the coalition was announced on 3 October 2007 in a videotaped message broadcast on the Arab satellite television channel Al Arabiya and in a statement posted on a Ba'athist website.

Ideology

The group laid down a series of eight terms and conditions in order for negotiations with U.S. forces to take place:
  1. Officially recognize the patriotic Resistance and all the patriotic, Arab nationalist, and Islamist Resistance organizations in all their armed and civil organizations as the sole legitimate representative of Iraq and its people.
  2. Officially announce an unconditional withdrawal from Iraq – whether that be immediate or in short stages.
  3. Halt raids, pursuits, killings, destruction, sabotage, dispossession, and expulsions and withdraw the occupation troops from all population centers.
  4. Free all prisoners and detainees without exception and compensate them for their losses.
  5. Return to service the Iraqi Army and national security forces, which were declared dissolved by the Americans during their invasion in 2003. They are to be restored in keeping with the rules and traditions that were in force before the American invasion and they must also be compensated for their losses.
  6. Pledge to compensate Iraq for all the material and moral losses and injuries caused the country by the occupation.
  7. Cancel all laws, decrees, and other pieces of legislation issued after the occupation.
  8. Hold direct talks with the Resistance on implementing a program to fulfill the principles adhered to by the Supreme Command.

Leadership

In addition to naming ad-Douri head of the group, the Supreme Command for Jihad and Liberation also appointed several others to its general staff:
  • Lieutenant General 'Amir Muhammad Amin
  • Shaykh 'Ali 'Abdallah al-'Ubaydi
  • General Khalid Sulayman Khalaf
  • Lieutenant General Muhammad Salig 'Alwan
  • General Salah ad-Din Ahmad
  • Dr. Kan'an Amin

Included groups

The Supreme Command for Jihad and Liberation is made up of 23 resistance groups. The coalition is led by a Sufi Muslim group – "The Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order." Ad-Douri is said to have ascribed to Sufism, a mystical form of Islam, in his later years.
The 23 named groups include:
  1. The Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order
  2. The Army of the Prophet's Companions
  3. The Army of the Murabiteen
  4. The Army of al-Hamzah
  5. The Army of the Message
  6. The Army of Ibn al-Walid
  7. The United Command of the Mujahideen in Iraq
  8. The Liberation Brigades
  9. The Army of al-Mustafa
  10. The Army of the Liberation of Iraq
  11. Squadrons of the Martyrs
  12. The Army of the Sabireen
  13. The Brigades of the Jihad in the Land of the Two Rivers
  14. The Army of the Knight for the Liberation of the Self-Rule Area
  15. Squadrons of the Jihad in Basra
  16. Jihadist Squadrons of Fallujah
  17. The Patriotic Popular Front for the Liberation of Iraq
  18. The Squadrons of the Husayni Revolution of at-Taff
  19. Squadrons of the Liberation of the South
  20. Army of Haneen
  21. Squadrons of Diyala for Jihad and Liberation
  22. The Squadrons of Glory for the Liberation of Iraq