US flying spy planes over Nigeria to find abducted school girls
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Washington,The US has
deployed surveillance aircraft over a remote area of Nigeria as part of a
mounting international effort to find over 200 school girls abducted by the
dreaded Boko Haram Islamist militants nearly a month ago.“We have shared
commercial satellite imagery with the Nigerians and are flying manned ISR
(intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) assets over Nigeria with the
government’s permission,” a senior US official said on Monday.Though the types
of aircraft deployed have not been released, the US has sophisticated planes
that can listen into a wide range of mobile phone and telecommunications
traffic. A team of about 30 US experts – members of the FBI and defence
and state departments – is already in Nigeria to help with the search.The
plight of the school girls and the desperation of their families has captured
world attention, with abhorrence focused on Boko Haram, the violent jihadist
group that is holding the girls.
State
department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US was “providing intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance support”.Military and law-enforcement teams on
the ground were “digging in on the search and co-ordinating closely with the
Nigerian government as well as international partners and allies”, she
said.
More than 270
girls were snatched by militants from their boarding school in Chibok,
north-eastern Nigeria, on April 14. Some managed to escape, but most were taken
into the remote Sambisa forest.Boko Haram on Monday released a 27-minute
video, showing about 130 girls in Muslim dress and reading from the Koran. Most
of the seized girls are Christians. Two were singled out to tell the camera
they had converted to Islam.In the video, the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar
Shekau, said the girls could be released in exchange for jailed militants. “I
swear to almighty Allah, you will not see them again until you release our
brothers that you have captured,” he said.A US official said they have no
reason to question the authenticity of the video. High-profile figures around
the world have backed the campaign for the girls’ release.US First Lady
Michelle Obama took over her husband’s weekly presidential address to express
“outrage and heartbreak” over the mass abduction, and to pledge US government
support for the rescue effort.
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