A member of the Abuja Bring Back Our Girls group speaks at a sit-in demonstration the group organized at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, Nigeria. 
 
 June 23, 2014 A member of the Abuja Bring Back Our Girls group speaks at a sit-in demonstration the group organized at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, Nigeria. Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters 
 
 The United States has deployed 80 troops to Chad to augment efforts to find the Nigerian schoolgirls recently taken hostage, the White House announced Wednesday, a significant escalation of Washington’s contribution to a crisis that has created global consternation. 
 
 The force, made up largely of Air Force personnel, will conduct surveillance flights and operate drone aircraft but will not participate in ground searches, according to U.S. military officials. 
 
 “These personnel will support the operation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for missions over northern Nigeria and the surrounding area,” the White House said in a statement formally notifying Congress of the deployment. The unit will remain in Chad “until its support resolving the kidnapping is no longer required.” 
 
 This month, the Pentagon dispatched a team of eight experts to the Nigerian capital to help search for the more than 200 schoolgirls captured by Boko Haram, a radical Islamist group that holds sway over remote areas in northern Nigeria. They are working with roughly two dozen U.S. law enforcement and intelligence personnel advising the Nigerian government on the recovery effort. 
 
 U.S. surveillance drones have been searching for the girls since May 11. Although officials have not said where those drones have been flying from, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday that having the new unit in Chad, which borders the northeastern tip of Nigeria, will enable longer surveillance flights. 
 
 “Locating this force in Chad allows us to spend more time flying over the search area,” said the spokesman, Lt. Col. Myles B. Caggins III. 
 
 U.S. military officials have emphasized the difficult nature of the mission. On Tuesday, Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, called the search for the missing girls tantamount to finding “a needle in a jungle.” 
 
 “We’re talking about an area roughly the size of West Virginia, and it’s dense forest jungle,” he told reporters. 
 
 The Ni­ger­ian girls were abducted in mid-April from a boarding school in the town of Chibok. U.S. officials have said the kidnappers may have broken up the hostages into smaller groups and dispersed into a wider area. Some officials have speculated that the girls could have been smuggled into neighboring countries. 
 
 “I don’t think anybody’s underestimating the level of difficulty in both finding them and then being able to launch some kind of recovery mission,” Kirby said Tuesday. “It’s very difficult in terms of the geography, the actual size, just square miles, of what we’re trying to search.” 
 
 Officials at the Pentagon would not say precisely where the new unit is based, but the French military has an air base in the Chadian capital, N’Djamena, near the Ni­ger­ian border. Washington and Paris have coordinated closely on security matters in Africa as the threat posed by militant groups there has prompted the United States to significantly expand its military footprint across the continent. 
 
 Paul Lubeck, a sociology professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz who has done extensive research in Nigeria, said the country’s security forces are up against a formidable group in Boko Haram. 
 
 “These guys are better organized, more highly motivated and have better arms than the Niger­ian military,” he said. “The Nigerian military is decayed.” 
 
 Additionally, because the Ni­ger­ian force has a history of brutality, U.S. military advisers face restrictions in the assistance they are able to provide. As part of an agreement reached this week, American military personnel are permitted to share some information — such as aerial imagery — but not all raw intelligence. 
 
 As the United States steps up intelligence-gathering efforts there, Lubeck said, there’s the possibility that Nigerian forces could mishandle it. 
 
 “Any time the Ni­ger­ian military attempts to intervene to release hostages, the hostages are killed,” he said. “You might get them the intel, but how to get them released safely is the real challenge.” 
 
 U.S. Special Operations forces in Africa are engaged in a similarly challenging hunt for Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, who leads a cult-like group in central Africa that has abducted children to use as sex slaves and soldiers. 
 
 The abduction of the Ni­ger­ian girls went largely unnoticed outside Africa for weeks. But as Ni­ger­ians in the capital began protesting the deteriorating security in many parts of the country this month, the plight of the girls began making headlines in the United States and calls for their return gained significant traction on social media. 
 
 Several U.S. lawmakers and first lady Michelle Obama have joined the cause, posting photos on Twitter using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. Rep. Edward R. Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement Wednesday calling the deployment a “step in the right direction.” He and others are urging the White House to do more. 
 
 “U.S. security personnel should be in Nigeria advising and assisting those engaged in the rescue efforts,” Royce said. “Anything less would be insufficient in responding to the pressing threat that Boko Haram poses to the region and U.S. interests.” ||||| Story highlights A Pentagon official says a Predator drone is joining the search 
 
 U.S. sending 80 members of its armed forces to Chad to help in search for the girls 
 
 Pentagon spokesman: "These are not combat troops" 
 
 Troops are going to Chad because it's "a great location" geographically, he says 
 
 The United States deployed 80 members of its armed forces to Chad to help in the search for the kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls, the White House said Wednesday. 
 
 "These personnel will support the operation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for missions over northern Nigeria and the surrounding area," it said in a letter. 
 
 "The force will remain in Chad until its support in resolving the kidnapping situation is no longer required." 
 
 President Barack Obama informed the House speaker and the president of the Senate of the move. 
 
 The forces will be involved in maintaining aircraft and analyzing data, but because they are armed, the President is required by law to inform the speaker of the House, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said. 
 
 "These are not combat infantry troops that we put into Chad," Kirby told CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" on Wednesday. "These are folks that are there to support the reconnaissance mission." 
 
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 Boko Haram abducted more than 200 girls last month from a school in northern Nigeria. Officials have speculated that the militants may have transported them to neighboring Chad or Cameroon, but it's not clear where the girls are or whether they've left Nigeria. 
 
 So why are troops deploying to Chad? 
 
 "Just geographically, Chad's a great location to do this from," Kirby said, adding that the United States has a good relationship with its government. 
 
 Reconnaissance flights will be searching an area roughly the size of West Virginia, he said, that includes parts of Nigeria and other countries. 
 
 The deployment is not based on any new intelligence leads, a senior administration official said. 
 
 "The truth is, we don't know exactly where they are," Kirby said. "We still believe that they've broken up into small groups and dispersed." 
 
 A U.S. Predator drone will now be aiding in the search for the girls, a Pentagon official told CNN. Half of the new group of U.S. troops will be operating the launch and recovery of the unarmed drone on its missions, and half of them will be providing security on the ground in Chad. 
 
 Nigeria asks U.N. to designate Boko Haram as terrorist group 
 
 Also Wednesday, Nigeria asked the United Nations to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organization as its escalating attacks spread alarm nationwide. 
 
 If approved, it will enable countries to impose arms embargoes, travel bans and asset freezes. 
 
 A United Nations al Qaeda committee is expected to decide when it meets Thursday. Nigeria's request lists the terror group as an affiliate of al Qaeda. 
 
 This is a "significant step" in the fight against terror, said Joy Ogwu, the Nigerian ambassador to the United Nations. 
 
 The United States branded Boko Haram a terrorist group last year, providing greater access to its finances and more ability to limit its movements. U.S. officials have said Boko Haram does not have financing in the United States. 
 
 The insurgent group has escalated its attacks in Africa's most populous nation as its bloodletting extends far beyond its hotbed in the rural northeast. 
 
 In attacks that appear to be getting more frequent, twin blasts killed at least 118 people Tuesday at a market in the central city of Jos. 
 
 The explosions went off 20 to 30 minutes apart, sparking an inferno that sent crowds running and screaming, covered in blood. 
 
 Nigerian authorities described the blasts as "terrorist activities" but declined to speculate on who might be responsible. 
 
 In separate attacks in Borno state this week, at least 30 people were killed by members of the terror group, according to local residents. 
 
 Boko Haram attackers swooped in on motorcycles Monday and killed 10 people in one village, residents said. 
 
 A day later, gunmen stormed a nearby village and killed 20 others, residents said. 
 
 During the attacks, Boko Haram set fire to homes and food stores, residents said, and fired machine guns. The group has not claimed responsibility for those attacks. 
 
 Both villages are close to where the more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped. Boko Haram claimed responsibility in a chilling video and said he was willing to free the girls in exchange for imprisoned militants. 
 
 "These vicious attacks on defenseless Nigerian civilians and Boko Haram's abduction last month of more than 200 girls in Chibok are unconscionable, terrorist acts demanding accountability and justice," the U.S. State Department said in a statement. 
 
 Officials condemn attacks, vow to stamp out terrorism 
 
 The sudden escalation of attacks, together with the failure to find the missing schoolgirls, has spread concern about the government's inability to quash the insurgency. Protesters have gathered daily nationwide to express frustration over the lack of progress in rescuing the schoolgirls. 
 
 "Last weekend in Paris the international community and regional leaders made clear their collective determination to support Nigeria and defeat the scourge of terrorism," the UK Foreign Office said in a statement. 
 
 "The Jos attack has only strengthened our resolve." 
 
 Nigeria and four neighboring countries -- including Chad -- will share intelligence and border surveillance in the search for the missing girls while Western nations will provide technical expertise and training in a new effort against the extremists. 
 
 The plan was announced over the weekend during a security summit hosted by French President Francois Hollande to address the growing threats from the group. 
 
 Boko Haram translates to "Western education is a sin" in the Hausa language. It says its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Nigeria, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south. 
 
 Devastating Nigeria attacks show twisted ambition of Boko Haram
– The US is putting some muscle behind its promise to help find the kidnapped girls of Nigeria. The White House told Congress today that it has sent 80 troops to neighboring Chad to help track down the girls and their Boko Haram captors, reports the Washington Post. The statement didn't spell out specifics except to say that "these personnel will support the operation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for missions over northern Nigeria and the surrounding area." The White House letter adds that they will remain there until no longer needed. And that could be a while, as a Pentagon spokesman made clear yesterday. “We’re talking about an area roughly the size of West Virginia, and it’s dense forest jungle," he said of the search. Also today, Nigeria asked the UN to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organization, a move that would give nations the power to freeze the group's assets and impose embargoes, reports CNN. Nigeria blames the group for yesterday's car bombings that killed more than 100.