Gun-toting criminal gangs rising problem for war-torn Afghanistan

Feature: Gun-toting criminal gangs rising problem for war-torn Afghanistan - Xinhua | English.news.cn: 

Not only in Baghlan, but in other parts of the conflict-ridden country,the existence of such groups has occasionally created security problems.
Nearly a dozen people were killed and injured as a result of fighting between two armed groups in Khanabad district of the northern Kunduz province two weeks ago which prompted many locals to show leniency towards Taliban militants, enabling them to overrun at least 30 villages in the troubled district, district governor Hayatullah Amiri said.
Armed groups, which are said to have been involved in criminal activities to earn money through black businesses such as extorting farmers and smuggling drugs, have been recruited into the ranks of the Afghan Local Police (ALP), a community police force in the countryside created to defend their communities against the Taliban onslaught.