Anita Ashok Datar, Columbia University Graduate, Dead in Mali Attack

Forty-one-year-old Anita Datar of Takoma Park, a suburb of Washington, was among those killed in attack Friday in Mali’s capital, according to a statement from her family.

She is survived by her son, parents, brother, and many, many friends around the world. According to her LinkedIn profile, Datar was senior manager for field programs at Palladium global Development, which has offices in Washington. It’s unbelievable to us that she has been killed in this senseless act of violence and terrorism.

The two graduated as in the class 1991 from Mount Olive High School in Flanders, where Henderson described Datar was one of those people everyone knew would go on to accomplish big things. She also earned dual Master’s degrees from Columbia University.

“We are devastated by the loss of our wonderful daughter, who’s doing the work she loves”. Heavily armed Islamic extremists took dozens of hostages, but Malian troops backed by United States and French special forces swarmed into the building freeing numerous hostages. “And while we are angry and saddened that she has been killed, we know that she would want to promote education and healthcare to prevent violence and poverty at home and overseas, not intolerance”, her family said.

It was not clear how Datar died during the siege, during which at least three gunmen stormed the hotel, which was popular with Westerners and the UN.

An al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group claimed credit for the attack, Reuters reported.

Two of the attackers were killed. Twenty-one people were reported dead from the attack, with an extra 6 hospitalized with injuries; Mali has declared a 10-day state of emergency in the wake of the attack.