Anita Ashok Datar, 41, an Indian-American, is among 27 at least people who were killed during a deadly siege of a Mali hotel by Islamic extremists. Anita lived in Takoma Park in Maryland, a suburb of Washington DC. She is the sole US citizen to have been killed in the attack yesterday, State Department Spokesman John Kirby said.
She was a senior manager at Palladium Group and a founding member of Tulalens, a not-for-profit organisation connecting underserved communities with quality health services. Armed extremists stormed Radisson Blu hotel in Mali’s capital town Bamako, locking in 170 people, and ended up killing at least 27 of them. Twenty captured Indians were evacuated without any harm.
In a statement released through the US State Department, Datar’s family said, “We are devastated that Anita is gone – it’s unbelievable to us that she has been killed in this senseless act of violence and terrorism.”
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