UNITED NATIONS: Nigeria has formally asked the UN Security Council al Qaeda sanctions committee to blacklist the militant group Boko Haram after the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls, according to a confidential document obtained by Reuters.

If there is no objection by the 15-member council committee, which operates by consensus, Boko Haram will be sanctioned as of 3:00 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Thursday.

The sanctions would include an international asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.

Until recently, Nigeria had been reluctant to seek international assistance to combat Boko Haram.

Boko Haram kidnapped more than 250 girls from a secondary school in Chibok in remote northeastern Nigeria on April 14 and has threatened to sell them into slavery. Eight other girls were taken from another village earlier this month.