At least 30 Burundian soldiers were killed and 20 others injured in Tuesday's attack by al-Shabab militants on an African Union base in southern Somalia, according to a Burundian official.

The official, who requested anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to media, told VOA Somali that 10 soldiers died on the spot, and the rest of the soldiers succumbed to their wounds. He confirmed that other soldiers are still missing.

Al-Shabab said it killed 173 soldiers in the attack on the AU base in the village of El-Baraf, about 150 kilometers north of Mogadishu. The casualty figure has not been independently verified. A separate source told VOA Somali that 161 soldiers were at the camp at the time of attack. The Burundian official confirmed that number.

The Burundian official told VOA Somali that the soldiers had intelligence al-Shabab was gathering in a nearby village about 48 hours prior to the attack. He said the soldiers prepared to defend themselves and dug trenches.

He said what caught the soldiers by surprise was the enormity of al-Shabab explosives detonated at the camp. He said the militants used three truck bombs, one of which fell into a ditch. He estimated the militants detonated about 20 kilograms of explosives, and that 450 militants overran the camp.

The official said the suicide truck bombs caused most of the casualties.

Earlier, the government of Burundi reported 10 of their soldiers were killed, with five others missing and 25 injured. Burundi also said 20 al-Shabab militants were killed in the attack.

On Twitter, Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye said there are no words strong enough to condemn the terrorist attack against the Burundian contingent. He wrote, "I join with all of Africa which has just lost sons and daughters … to console the hard-hit families."

The African Union, the Somali government and the embassy of the United States in Mogadishu have all strongly condemned the al-Shabab attack.

AU chief Moussa Faki Mahamat paid tribute to the Burundian soldiers killed, and said the "heinous" attack will not lessen support of AU forces to Somalia.

The Somali ministry of foreign affairs called on the international community to increase and provide higher-end capability to Somali security forces and AU forces so they can effectively combat terrorism in Somalia.

The U.S. embassy in Mogadishu said the U.S. extends condolences to the families of the troops killed and wished a quick recovery to those injured.

The UK is sending around 8,000 of its troops to take part in exercises across Eastern Europe in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The historic move, which will also see dozens of tanks deployed to countries ranging from Finland to North Macedonia this summer, will mark the largest deployment in Europe since the Cold War.

The thousands of British troops will be joined by tens of thousands of troops from Nato and the Joint Expeditionary Force alliance, which includes Finland and Sweden.

The plans have been in the works for a long time, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), but it had been enhanced in response in light of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Commander Field Army lieutenant general Ralph Wooddisse said: “The UK makes a significant contribution to the defence of Europe and the deterrence of Russian aggression. The British Army’s series of exercises is fundamental to both, according to the Independent.

“The scale of the deployment, coupled with the professionalism, training and agility of the British Army, will deter aggression on a scale not seen in Europe this century.”

Britain’s deployment is expected to build to a peak of around 8,000 personnel operating in mainland Europe between April and June.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “The security of Europe has never been more important. These exercises will see our troops join forces with allies and partners across Nato and the Joint Expeditionary Force in a show of solidarity and strength in one of the largest shared deployments since the Cold War.”

Meanwhile, troops from the Queen’s Royal Hussars have been deployed to Finland – which shares an 830-mile land border with Russia – for embedding in an armoured brigade.

Exercises alongside American troops are also taking place in Poland.

It comes as the US House of Representatives today passed legislation by 417 to 10 that will make it easier to export military equipment to Ukraine, reviving the “Lend-Lease Act” that helped defeat Hitler during the Second World War.

It will next go to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law.

The measure will allow Washington to lend or lease military equipment to US allies. In this case, it will help those affected by Russia’s invasion, such as Poland and other eastern European countries including Ukraine.

“Today the Ukrainian people are standing on the front lines in the fight for democracy and against tyranny, and the US needs to provide them with every possible measure of humanitarian and military aid,” Democratic representative Mary Gay Scanlon said, urging support for the bill.

Among other provisions, the bill would allow the United States to provide equipment to Ukraine now with just a technical requirement to pay at some later date – essentially giving it to the Kyiv government. Gulf Today