Washington:
The White House says the United States is doing what it can to help find and free nearly 300 Nigerian girls kidnapped by Islamic extremists.
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Monday the US assistance includes counterterrorism support and logistics to Nigerian investigators. Carney is calling the April 15 mass abduction from a school "an outrage and a tragedy."
The leader of Islamist extremist organization, Boko Haram, says he's keeping the girls as slaves and threatening to sell them. Carney called Boko Haram a group of terrorists with "heinous and malicious intent."
Carney says President Barack Obama is receiving regular updates from national security advisers who are closely monitoring the situation.