Boko Haram guerillas are believed to have kidnapped another eight schoolgirls in northeast Nigeria, following last month’s mass abduction of 230 teenage girls from a school.  Both happened in restive Borno state, where Boko Haram is trying to carve out a country for itself based on Sharia law.

The new abductions apparently happened on Sunday, but word is only getting out now, after Boko Haram’s maniacally grinning leader released a bizarre video in which he taunts he would sell the abducted girls.  Boko Haram’s Islamist insurgency has left thousands dead since 2009.

The kidnappings have stirred the anger of Nigerians, who see the government of President Goodluck Jonathan as incapable or uninterested in rescuing the girls on its own.  But the Nigerian government has now asked for help, and it’s getting it.

US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Jonathan on Tuesday morning to discuss the plan to send a “coordination cell” to Abuja to assist in locating the girls and to help secure their release.  It will be made up of US military personnel and experienced hostage negotiators.  The White House says the contingent will be short of a full fighting force.