--- description: White House officials confirmed that reconnaissance drones are now patrolling an area of Nigeria the size of West Virginia title: US Drones Deployed in Search for Kidnapped Nigerian Girls image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a7b65d4e41392b8/69868f07169ab0033c279435/boko-haram-kidnapped-girls.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Foreign Policy](/tag/foreign-policy/) ## Foreign Policy Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.S. Deploys Drones in Search for Kidnapped Nigerian Girls  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 14, 2014 7:10 PM CUT  Kidnapped schoolgirls are seen at an unknown location in this still image taken from an undated video released by Nigerian Islamist rebel group Boko Haram. Kidnapped schoolgirls are seen at an unknown location in this still image taken from an undated video released by Nigerian Islamist rebel group Boko Haram.Reuters  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 14, 2014 7:10 PM CUT The United States has deployed drones to Nigeria to help search for more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by militant group Boko Haram, officials confirmed Wednesday. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said “unmanned, unarmed” aircraft had joined reconnaissance flights over a swath of Nigeria where Boko Haram is believed to be holding the girls hostage. Carney cautioned during a news conference that the area of greatest suspicion still covering an expanse of land “along the size of West Virginia.” The announcement comes as some U.S. lawmakers are urging the use of force to rescue the Nigerian girls. Senators in both parties recently floated the idea of [using special forces to aid in the search](http://time.com/97315/should-the-u-s-send-in-special-forces-to-bring-back-our-girls/ "undefined"), and Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain went further on Tuesday. “I certainly would send in U.S. troops to rescue them,” McCain [told](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/13/mccain-send-u-s-special-forces-to-rescue-nigerian-girls.html "undefined") to the _Daily Beast_. Carney, however, said U.S. counterterrorism experts dispatched to Nigeria would limit their activity to an “advisory capacity,” focused on finding the girls. Recent international attention and internal protests have ratcheted up pressure on Nigeria’s government to rescue the girls and crack down on Boko Haram. Over the last five years, the extremist group has waged a campaign of bombings, massacres and kidnappings in northern Nigeria that has claimed an [estimated](http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/05/226072.htm "undefined") 1,000 lives. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/99520/us-deploys-drones-in-search-for-kidnapped-nigerian-girls/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/99520/us-deploys-drones-in-search-for-kidnapped-nigerian-girls/"},"headline":"U.S. Deploys Drones in Search for Kidnapped Nigerian Girls","datePublished":"2014-05-14T19:10:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:50:13.676Z","description":"White House officials have confirmed that unmanned and unarmed reconnaissance drones are now patrolling an area of Nigeria the size of West Virginia in search of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April by the militant group Boko Haram","url":"https://time.com/99520/us-deploys-drones-in-search-for-kidnapped-nigerian-girls/","keywords":["Foreign Policy","Terrorism","Nigeria","kidnapping","Boko Haram"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a7b65d4e41392b8/69868f07169ab0033c279435/boko-haram-kidnapped-girls.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a7b65d4e41392b8/69868f07169ab0033c279435/boko-haram-kidnapped-girls.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kidnapped schoolgirls are seen at an unknown location in this still image taken from an undated video released by Nigerian Islamist rebel group Boko Haram.","caption":"Kidnapped schoolgirls are seen at an unknown location in this still image taken from an undated video released by Nigerian Islamist rebel group Boko Haram.","creditText":"Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/foreign-policy/","name":"Foreign Policy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/99520/us-deploys-drones-in-search-for-kidnapped-nigerian-girls/","name":"U.S. Deploys Drones in Search for Kidnapped Nigerian Girls"}}]}] ```