FILE - In this file photo taken on Sunday, Aug. 5,                2012, Pakistani Taliban patrol in their stronghold                of Shawal in Pakistani tribal region of South                Waziristan. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali                Khan said in November 2014 there was no Islamic                State group presence, only militants using its                name. However, a letter written by the federal                government a month earlier and later obtained by                The Associated Press warned local officials that                the Islamic State group had begun courting area                militants and that the extremists claimed the                support of up to "12,000 followers" in northwest                Pakistan. (AP Photo/Ishtiaq Mahsud,                File)(The Associated Press)              
                FILE - In this file photo taken Saturday, Dec. 13,                2014, an Afghan soldier inspects a damaged bus at                the site of a suicide attack by the Taliban in                Kabul, Afghanistan. The country and Pakistan, home                to al-Qaida and Taliban militants and the focus of                the longest war in U.S. history, face a new,                emerging threat from the Islamic State group,                officials have told The Associated Press. For now,                the Taliban remain the region's most prominent                insurgency, with nearly 20 years of experience                battling Afghan warlords and international troops.                (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)(The Associated Press)              
                FILE - In this Dec. 28, 2011 file photo, a former                Taliban fighter places a range of bullets before                surrendering it to Afghan authorities, as part of a                peace-reconciliation program in Herat, west of                Kabul, Afghanistan. The Islamic State group                controls a third of both Syria and Iraq, where it                declared a caliphate governed by an extremely harsh                interpretation of Shariah law and demanded the                allegiance of the worlds Muslims. The Taliban, by                contrast, are narrowly focused on Afghanistan and                Pakistan, and some leaders have even responded to                past peace overtures. (AP Photo/Reza Shirmohammadi,                File)(The Associated Press)              
                In this Monday, Jan. 5, 2015 photo, foreign                security forces arrive at the site of a suicide                attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Analysts and                officials said the number of Islamic State                supporters in the country and Pakistan remains                small and that the group faces resistance from                militants with strong tribal links. However, the                rise of even a small Islamic State affiliate could                further destabilize the region and complicate U.S.                and NATO efforts to end the 13-year Afghan war. (AP                Photo/Massoud Hossaini)(The Associated Press)              
                In this Monday, Jan. 5, 2015 photo, Afghan security                forces inspect the site of a suicide attack in                Kabul, Afghanistan. Analysts and officials said the                number of Islamic State supporters in the country                and Pakistan remains small and that the group faces                resistance from militants with strong tribal links.                However, the rise of even a small Islamic State                affiliate could further destabilize the region and                complicate U.S. and NATO efforts to end the 13-year                Afghan war. (AP Photo/Massoud                Hossaini)(The Associated Press)              
    CAMP SHORABAK, Afghanistan     Afghanistan and Pakistan, home to al-Qaida and    Taliban militants and the focus of the longest war in U.S.    history, face a new, emerging threat from the Islamic State    group, officials have told The Associated Press.  
    Disenchanted extremists from the Taliban and other    organizations, impressed by the Islamic State group's    territorial gains and slick online propaganda, have begun    raising its black flag in extremist-dominated areas of both    countries.  
    In Pakistan, an online video purportedly shows militants    beheading a man while pledging their allegiance to the IS. In    Afghanistan, there have even been reports of militant    rivalries, with clashes erupting between Taliban fighters and    Islamic State militants.  
    Analysts and officials say the number of IS supporters in the    Afghan-Pakistan region remains small and that the group faces    resistance from militants with strong tribal links. However,    the rise of even a small Islamic State affiliate could further    destabilize the region and complicate U.S. and NATO efforts to    end the 13-year Afghan war.  
    The Taliban remain the region's pre-eminent insurgency, with    nearly 20 years of experience battling Afghan warlords and    international troops. But the Taliban are "not a particularly    sexy ideology or military force, and the risk lies in the    Taliban looking increasingly out of date," said a Western    diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss    intelligence matters.  
Link:
After Mideast gains, Islamic State group reaches to Taliban heartland of Afghanistan, Pakistan