U.S. Team to Help Nigeria Locate Kidnapped Girls

World Today

Women attend a demonstration calling on the government to rescue kidnapped schoolgirls of Chibok secondary school outside the defense headquarters, in Abuja, Nigeria Tuesday, May 6 2014. Their plight — and the failure of the Nigerian military to find them — has drawn international attention to an escalating Islamic extremist insurrection that has killed more than 1,500 so far this year. Boko Haram, the name means “Western education is sinful,” has claimed responsibility for the mass kidnapping and threatened to sell the girls. The claim was made in a video seen Monday. The British and U.S. governments have expressed concern over the fate of the missing students, and protests have erupted in major Nigerian cities and in New York. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

The White House says a U.S. team will head to Nigeria as soon as possible to aid in the search for nearly 300 teenage girls abducted from their school more than three weeks ago.

Spokesman Jay Carney says Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated the offer during a conversation Tuesday with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Carney says “time is of the essence.” He urged the Nigerian government to ensure that it is using all available resources to ensure the safe return of the girls. Carney says the U.S. team would include military and law enforcement personnel capable of sharing with the Nigerians expertise in intelligence, investigations, hostage negotiating and victim assistance.

President Barack Obama and Kerry were to discuss the issue at a White House meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Report compiled with information from The Associated Press.