The Islamic State group, also called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) may currently be the biggest terror organisation in the world, but the U.S.'s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is of the opinion that the "Af-Pak region" -- Afghanistan and Pakistan -- is dominated in activities by the Taliban, the Haqqani network and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
In an open hearing before the U.S. Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence, CIA's newly-appointed director John Brennan said: "There are the organisations in the Af-Pak area led by the Taliban, the Haqqanis and Laskar-e-Taiba that continue to engage in terrorist attacks."
In fact, this was so evident that the "Afghanistan-Pakistan branch [of ISIS] has struggled to maintain its cohesion, in part because of competition with the Taliban" in the region, Brennan had said in his opening statement at the hearing.
He added: "We work very closely with services in the area, including the Indians and others to try to guard against their ability to carry out attacks," referring to the security forces in the region.
The stand seems to run contrary to actions of the U.S., with the Senate itself recently approving the setting-up of a new $800-million fund to aid Pakistan in its fight against terror, having rejected a proposal only a day earlier that would have otherwise seen India as a "global strategic and defence partner" of the U.S.
