Boko Haram Stages Massacre as Nigeria Offers $300K for Girls

Nigeria is apparently feeling the international pressure over its kidnapped girls, with the national police offering a $300,000 reward today for information that leads to their rescue, reports the BBC. (The move comes a day after President Obama promised that a US team would help the cause.) But Boko Haram, the group that kidnapped the girls and vows to sell them, remains as defiant and brutal as ever. A new attack in the town of Gamboru Ngala, near the border with Cameroon, massacred at least 150 villagers, reports CNN.

Local media reports say militants opened fire on a crowd of people in a busy marketplace, set homes on fire, and shot residents trying to flee the flames over a span of 12 hours, reports the AP. A Nigerian senator says the death toll is "high—hundreds—but we are still awaiting details from the military authorities." (Click to read about one girl's description of how she escaped Boko Haram.)