American Killed in Mali Attack Identified: 'Everything She Did in Life She Did to Help Others

WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) — As a Peace Corps volunteer, expert in global health and the mother of a young boy, Anita Ashok Datar devoted her life to caring for and helping others, her family said.

Datar, of Takoma Park, Maryland, was one of at least 20 people killed in Friday's terror attack on a hotel in Mali, the State Department confirmed in a statement.

Image via Twitter

No other U.S. citizens were believed to have died in the attack, carried out by heavily armed Islamic extremists at a Radisson hotel in the Malian capital of Bamako. ABC News reported that the U.S. is still looking for other Americans "who may have been at the hotel."

"We are devastated that Anita is gone," her family said in a statement issued through the State Department. "It's unbelievable to us that she has been killed in this senseless act of violence and terrorism."

Datar, 41, was a senior manager at Palladium Group, an international development organization with offices in Washington, her family said. As a public health expert, she focused on family planning and HIV issues, work that took her to Africa often in the past 15 years. She also worked in Asia and South America, according to her LinkedIn profile.

"Everything she did in her life she did to help others — as a mother, public health expert, daughter, sister and friend," the family statement said. "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 abroad, not intolerance."

We just received our first photos of Anita Datar, American killed in #Mali hotel attack. https://t.co/FZsUXsLxwi pic.twitter.com/06hb8MjxnX

— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) November 21, 2015

The family said that of all her accomplishments, Datar was "most proud of her son." Her Facebook page is filled with pictures of the boy.

Born in Massachusetts, Datar grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Rutgers, her family said. She worked in Senegal with the Peace Corps for more than two years and earned master's degrees in public health and public administration from Columbia.

In addition to her son, parents and a brother, she is survived by "many, many friends around the world," the statement said.

More than 25 people were killed Friday after Islamic extremists attacked a Radisson hotel in Bamako. An extremist group led by former al-Qaida commander Moktar Belmoktar claimed responsibility for the attack.

We mourn American Anita Datar and all those lost in #MaliAttacks. We extend condolences to family & friends & stand with the Malian people.

— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) November 21, 2015

Very sad to hear about fellow Mother, aid worker & Takoma Park, MD neighbor. Anita Datar killed in #Mali. She was there to help.

— Colette Rausch (@coletterausch) November 21, 2015