An anonymous senior official in the Obama administration has said that the United States is flying a surveillance planes to search for the abducted schoolgirls by Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria.

This came to light on late Monday after Boko Haram released a video showing the abducted girls in hijab and reciting the first chapter of the Quaran.

The militants also said in the video that they are ready to swap the girls with jailed Boko Haram fighters who are in jail. The government initially refused the offer but local reporters said on Monday night that the government has rescinded its decision, saying that it would consider all possible options.

“I swear to almighty Allah, you will not see them again until you release our brothers that you have captured,” Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau said in the video.

Local reporters also said the US is also sharing commercial satellite imagery with the Nigerian government and the most likely target place for this satellite surveillance is the Sambisi Forest. The Sambisi Forest is game reserve forest and covers an area approximately 60,000 square kilometers in the northeast and is believed to be a hub for Boko Haram.

US State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki said that intelligence experts were closely examining the Boko Haram video for clues that might help locate the girls.

“We have shared commercial satellite imagery with the Nigerians and are flying manned assets over Nigeria with the government’s permission,’’ the anonymous official said.

The manned aircraft was identified as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and would be manned by a team of about 30 US experts who are members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Nigeria helping in the rescue operation of the girls.

Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok in Borno State on April 16 and is still holding them hostage despite outrage from the international community.

The group has been fighting for years for an Islamic state in the predominantly Muslim north of Nigeria and regularly perpetrated attacks on police, army and authorities, but also to schools and churches. The name Boko Haram translates as” Western education is sin.”

Almost 7,000 people have been killed while dozens of people have been left injured since Boko Haram began their militancy in 2009.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

Writer’s Email Address: Adamsisska@googlemail.com