<p>An Indian-American woman is among at least 27 people killed during a deadly siege of a Mali hotel by Islamic extremists.<br /><br />Anita Ashok Datar, 41, is the sole US citizen to have been killed in the attack yesterday, State Department Spokesman John Kirby said.<br /><br />"We mourn American Anita Datar and all those lost in Mali Attacks," US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a tweet yesterday.<br /><br />"We extend condolences to family & friends and stand with the Malian people," he said.<br />In a statement released through the US State Department, Datar's her family said that they are devastated by the news.<br /><br />"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," the family said.<br /><br />Anita lived in Takoma Park in Maryland, a suburb of WashingtonDC."Anita was one of the kindest and most generous people we know. She loved her family and her work tremendously," the statement said.<br /><br />"Everything she did in her life she did to help others— as a mother, public health expert, daughter, sister and friend," it said.<br /><br />Datar was born in western Massachusetts and grew up in northern New Jersey.<br />She earned an MPH and MPA from Columbia University's Joseph Mailman School of Public Health and School of International and Public Affairs.<br /><br />She worked in Senegal for two years with the Peace Corps (1997-1999) and spent much of her career working to advance global health and international development, with a focus on population and reproductive health, family planning and HIV.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Armed extremists stormed Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital town locking in 170 people, killing at least 27 of them. Twenty captured Indians were evacuated without any harm. </p>
<p>An Indian-American woman is among at least 27 people killed during a deadly siege of a Mali hotel by Islamic extremists.<br /><br />Anita Ashok Datar, 41, is the sole US citizen to have been killed in the attack yesterday, State Department Spokesman John Kirby said.<br /><br />"We mourn American Anita Datar and all those lost in Mali Attacks," US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a tweet yesterday.<br /><br />"We extend condolences to family & friends and stand with the Malian people," he said.<br />In a statement released through the US State Department, Datar's her family said that they are devastated by the news.<br /><br />"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," the family said.<br /><br />Anita lived in Takoma Park in Maryland, a suburb of WashingtonDC."Anita was one of the kindest and most generous people we know. She loved her family and her work tremendously," the statement said.<br /><br />"Everything she did in her life she did to help others— as a mother, public health expert, daughter, sister and friend," it said.<br /><br />Datar was born in western Massachusetts and grew up in northern New Jersey.<br />She earned an MPH and MPA from Columbia University's Joseph Mailman School of Public Health and School of International and Public Affairs.<br /><br />She worked in Senegal for two years with the Peace Corps (1997-1999) and spent much of her career working to advance global health and international development, with a focus on population and reproductive health, family planning and HIV.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Armed extremists stormed Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital town locking in 170 people, killing at least 27 of them. Twenty captured Indians were evacuated without any harm. </p>