Boko Haram attack in Nigeria leaves over 150 dead; $310,000 reward for info leading to rescue of abducted schoolgirls

In this photo dated 6 June 2013, soldiers stand guard at the offices of the state-run Nigerian Television Authority in Maiduguri, Nigeria. The radical group Boko Haram once attacked only government institutions and security forces, but now increasingly targets civilians.(AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

A Boko Haram attack on Wednesday, May 7, left over 150 dead and dozens more injured in Gamboru Ngala, Nigeria.

The militants, who kidnapped 276 Nigerian schoolgirls last month, fired grenades and threw bombs into a crowded market today.

They also set fires to buildings, and blew the roof of a police station. 14 police officers were killed from the blast.

Nigerian Senator Ahmed Zanna told CNN that the death toll from the bloody, 12-hour assault may reach 300.

On April 14, Boko Haram invaded an all-girls school in Chibok, Nigeria and forced over 200 girls into trucks. The militants then drove off into the forest.

Today, Nigerian officials offered a $310,000 reward for information leading to the return of the girls.

The police department assured the confidentiality of any informants.

"While calling on the general public to be part of the solution to the present security challenge, the Police High Command also reassures all citizens that any information given would be treated anonymously and with utmost confidentiality," a Nigerian law enforcement official said in a statement.

A second kidnapping occurred on May 4 when at least eight girls were taken from Warabe, Nigeria. Witnesses say Boko Haram went door to door, taking girls and assaulting anyone who tried to intervene.

In a video obtained May 5 by Agence-France Presse, Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau, bragged about the kidnappings.

"I abducted your girls," he said. "I will sell them in the market, by Allah. There is a market for selling humans. Allah says I should sell. He commands me to sell. I will sell women. I sell women."

U.S. government officials say Boko Haram have been trained by Al-Qaeda, and have put a $7 million bounty on Shekau's head.

Republican Senator Susan Collins said more should be done to save the girls.

"I would like to see special forces deployed to help rescue these young girls," she told CNN. "Some of these girls are as young as 9 years old. They're being sold into slavery, forced into marriages, required to convert. This is just horrible."