Al-Douri played a role in the Northern Offensive as commander of the Naqshbandi Army. Reports soon surfaced that he had links with the jihadist group ISIL, helping them take the city of Tikrit and coordinating attacks against Iraqi security forces. On 13 June, a Twitter account, @wikibaghdadi, claimed a "Meeting between ISIS and Naqshbandi Army near al-Qayara area south of Mosul had taken place with representatives from Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi." In July 2014, al-Douri issued an audio recording praising "the heroes and knights of al Qaeda and the Islamic State" forces in attacking Iraqi government positions within Saladin, Kirkuk, Diyala, and Nineveh Governorates. His connections with Islamist elements in Iraq is said to have emerged as far back as during Saddam's regime. According to the "Soufan Group", al-Douri had close ties with senior ISIL officials Abu Muslim al-Turkmani and Abu Ayman al-Iraqi. Both men had served in the Ba'athist regime under Saddam Hussein, with al-Turkmani being a Lieutenant colonel and serving in the "Istikhbarat" and Special Republican Guard. Al-Iraqi had been a Colonel in Iraq's Air Defense Intelligence.