Al-Shabaab operatives set fire to six freight trucks carrying charcoal from the Lower Shabelle and Hiran regions on Wednesday as the convoy was traveling toward the capital, Mogadishu.

Photographs obtained from the area depict the commercial vehicles engulfed in flames along the road connecting Wanlaweyn and Afgooye in the Lower Shabelle region.

A transport driver interviewed by Raxanreeb stated that armed militants ambushed the vehicles along the primary transit corridor between Wanlaweyn and Afgooye.

The driver, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to security concerns, reported that the trucks were destroyed by members of Al-Shabaab’s Hisbah unit operating at local checkpoints. He noted that the destroyed vehicles belonged to members of the Gaaljecel, Habar Gidir, and Murusade clans.

According to sources cited by Raxanreeb, Al-Shabaab had routinely extracted tax payments from charcoal transporters using an intermediary drivers’ committee to process the collections.

However, operational conditions shifted last week after the U.S.-backed Danab Special Forces apprehended two key members of that committee, identified as Ahmed Somali and Osman Jawjawley.