American mother gunned down in Mali massacre: Aid worker is named as first victim after terrorists slaughtered 27 at luxury hotel, leaving bodies piled up in gore-spattered corridors

• Anita Datar, 41, was working for U.S. aid firm when she was killed. She is survived by elementary-school-aged son
• Radisson Blue hotel came under attack by jihadists armed with AK-47s and hand grenades in Mali capital Bamako  
• Gunmen spoke in English and tested hostages' knowledge of the Koran before allowing Muslim hostages to leave
• Three Britons and 22 Americans escaped the jihadists, who killed 27 people during raid
• Officials say notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar was 'likely behind' the massacre 
• US Special Forces led elite operation to clear the building one floor at a time amid deadly hostage crisis 
• WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT 

By Flora Drury and Tom Wyke and Jay Akbar For Mailonline

Published: 04:10 EST, 20 November 2015 | Updated: 00:27 EST, 21 November 2015

An aid worker and mother of one has been identified as the American civilian gunned down in the Mali massacre on Friday.

Anita Datar, 41, had been working in Bamako - Mali's capital - as a U.S. envoy for international development firm Palladium when Islamist militants stormed her hotel on Friday morning. 

Usually based in Washington, D.C., the New Jersey native who specialized in public health is survived by her elementary school-aged son, Rohan.

Datar's family said in a statement on Friday: '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.

'Anita was one of the kindest and most generous people we know. She loved her family and her work tremendously. Everything she did in her life she did to help others - as a mother, public health expert, daughter, sister and friend.

'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.' 

Datar was one of 27 people slaughtered on Friday when Islamist militants stormed a hotel and took 170 people hostage for seven hours.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO 

Anita Datar, 41 (pictured in a family photo), was working as an envoy in Bamako, Mali, for a U.S. aid company when she was killed on Friday

Datar is survived by her elementary school-aged son Rohan (pictured together, left and right). In tribute to Anita, her family has appealed to the public to promote education and healthcare to prevent violent at home and abroad, rather than spreading fear and intolerance

Datar first worked in Africa as an aid envoy two decades ago, as a rural health worker in Senegal.

It was a two-year stint after graduating Rutgers University in 1995, where she read Psychology for her bachelor's degree. In 2000, Datar went back to school, to New York's Columbia University, to obtain an MPH in Public Health and an MPA in Public Administration. 

Earlier this year, Datar founded TulaLens, essentially a Yelp for health clinics in under-served communities.

Her high school classmate Tara Elms Henderson told the Washington Post: 'Anita was a kind, gentle, loving person. No one who knew her could say a bad thing about her. Ever. She was a special person.' 

Officials say notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar was 'likely behind' the massacre, for which al Qaeda has claimed responsibility. 

The rescue forces who eventually stormed the hotel after a seven-hour siege were met with scenes of horror: bodies piled up in pools of blood, the walls spattered with red.

Chilling pictures show bodies lying next to a lift, its doors kept open by the dead. It isn't clear whether they were trying to get out or in when merciless gunmen opened fire.

At least 27 - including a Belgian diplomat and one American - were killed by a group of jihadis which went on a deadly rampage on Friday, armed with grenades and automatic weapons, at one point holding more than 100 people hostage.

Automatic weapons fire was heard on the seventh floor of the 190-room Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, where it was thought as many as 10 militants roamed through the building, looking for guests and members of staff.

Two of the extremists have been killed, and all 127 hostages have since been freed - many running for their lives along the dirt track outside the hotel, which is popular with foreigners. Among those who fled the luxury hotel were three Britons.

The al-Qaeda affiliated group Al-Mourabitoun, based in the Sahara of northern Mali, have claimed responsibility for the attack, which began when the armed militants entered the grounds in a vehicle which witnesses claim had diplomatic plates.   

The death toll in the attack - carried out by a jihadi group linked to Al Qaeda, based in the north of the West African country - currently stands at 27, with 12 bodies found in the basement and another 15 on the second floor, according to sources

The jihadists stormed the hotel this morning, with witnesses claiming there were about 10 militants going floor to floor

A seriously injured survivor is carried out from the luxury hotel in the Mali capital, Bamako - one of the first to be rescued

Several security officers help a badly injured man after he was caught up in the horrific terror attack at the Radisson Blu hotel

A Mali security officer holds up a jihadist flag - the group is linked to Al-Qaeda, and refused to align with ISIS earlier this year

The extremist group split two years ago from Al Qaiea's North Africa branch and is led by the one-eyed Mokthar Belmokhtar, who is also known as the 'Marlboro Man'. The group said it wanted fighters freed from Mali's prisons and for attacks against northern Malians to stop.

The jihadist group, known as the Mourabitounes, was formed in 2013 after Belmoktar left al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and fused with a Malian militant group. The statement issued on Friday said the Mourabitounes had attacked in coordination with the 'Sahara Emirate' affiliated with Al Qaeda. 

Several witnesses have claimed that the gunmen entered through the gates of the hotel in a car with a diplomatic number plate before opening fire with AK-47s and throwing grenades inside the building. The gunmen were also speaking to the hostages in English, according to one who was freed.

#'I heard them say in English 'Did you load it?, Let's go',' revealed Guinean singer Sekouba 'Bambino' Diabate, who was rescued by Malian security forces.

Mr Diabate added: 'I wasn't able to see them because in these kinds of situations it's hard. I woke up with the sounds of gunshots and for me, it was just small bandits who came in the hotel to claim something. After 20 or 30 minutes, I realized these are not just petty criminals.'

The hotel's head of security, Seydou Dembele, said two private security guards had been shot in the legs in the early stages of the assault.

'We saw two of the attackers. One was wearing a balaclava. The other was black-skinned. They forced the first barrier,' Dembele told Reuters.

Within minutes of the assault, police and then soldiers had surrounded the hotel and were blocking roads leading into the neighbourhood. 

Belgian diplomat Dieudonne was among two Malians and one French national who were confirmed dead following the siege.

Mr Dieudonne, an official with the parliament of Belgium's French-speaking community, had been in Mali for a convention when he was killed in shocking terror attack.

'Mr Dieudonne, with other foreign colleagues, was in Mali to give a seminar for Malian parliamentarians. At this stage the exact circumstances of his tragic death are not yet known,' the Brussels-based parliament said.

At least 27 bodies were counted by one UN peacekeeper - 12 in the basement and a further 15 on the second floor - as Mali's security minister confirmed the gunmen are holding no more hostages. 

Among the dead is Belgian diplomat Geoffrey Dieudonne, who had been in the country to deliver a seminar to the government. 

Mali is used to terror attacks in the north of the country, but it is not common for the violence to reach as far south

Grenades packed into hand luggage were discovered in front of the hotel, which is in the capital in the south of the country

A Malian security officer armed with a pistol helps out hostage after he was freed from the Radisson Blu hotel. 125 guests and 13 members of staff were being held inside the hotel

A terrified guest is led through the foyer of the hotel as the rescue operation begins to regain control of the hotel's lower floors

Two survivors struggle to contain their emotions as they are led out of the hotel by members of the security services

Malian special forces lead one hostage survivor out of the hotel and along the road near the horrific scene

The terrorist group which carried out the killings said it wanted fighters freed from Mali's prisons and for attacks against northern Malians to stop. Pictured: French gendarmes prepare forensic supplies in the lobby of the Radisson hotel in Bamako

MOKHTAR BELMOKHTAR: THE SAHARA'S ONE-EYED JIHADI MASTERMIND WHO KEEPS COMING BACK FROM THE DEAD

The one-eyed jihadi was behind the attack on a gas facility in Algeria in 2013, which left 38 dead, including six Britons

Meet the one-eyed terror chief, who has come back from the dead so often he's been nicknamed Lazurus, behind some of the deadliest plots of the last few years - but whose inability to do paperwork led to a telling off few would expect.

Veteran jihadi Mokhtar Belmokhtar - who has a $5million (£3.3million) bounty on his head - is not only one of the most deadly Islamist leaders in the world, but also one of the most colourful. 

Over the last 24 years he has risen through the ranks, developing a reputation for daring attacks and for kidnapping foreigners - wreaking havoc across the Sahara. 

The jihadi is best known in recent years for masterminding the attack against a gas facility in Algeria in 2013, taking 800 people hostage and executing 39 before the plant was taken back by Algerian forces. Six of those he murdered were British.

Belmokhtar, now 43, has been fighting for Islamists since he was 19, after he became interested in jihad as a schoolboy.

Born in northern Algeria, Belmokhtar travelled to Afghanistan while still a teenager. Here, he claims he lost an eye in battle and trained in Al Qaeda's camps. In truth, it appears it was lost when he was fiddling with explosives.

He funds his activities smuggling cigarettes across the desert - earning him the nickname Mr Marlboro.

His decision to split from the international terror group came in 2013 - a decision, it was later revealed, spurred on by a letter chastising him for not answering the phone, murdering enough people or handing in his expenses.

The renamed Al-Mourabitoun - which translates as The Sentinals - are based in the Sahara, and conduct attacks in Mali, Niger and Libya.

Despite this, Belmokhtar, who has four wives, has remained linked to the group - earlier this year refusing to pledge allegiance to ISIS.

This latest attack comes just months after it was rumoured he had died - reports which followed three previous claims of his death, which have always proved not to be true.

Two workers for Turkish Airlines and six Chinese nationals are thought to be among the missing hostages.

Twelve members of the Air France crew have been released from the hotel following a raid by Malian special forces while five other Turkish Airlines employees have managed to escape from the hotel, Turkish officials confirmed.

'The whole of the Air France team is now in a safe place,' an Air France statement said, indicating it was in 'constant contact' with its team of two pilots and 10 cabin crew members. 

US Special Forces have reportedly been assisting with the rescue operation to clear the building of hostages and take out the armed jihadis.

The French intelligence service has also been providing invaluable logistical support for the operation and have confirmed they have dispatched a unit of special forces to Bamako.

'Our special forces have freed hostages and 30 others were able to escape on their own. We have sealed all the exit points of the hotel, so be assured none of the hostage takers will be able to escape,' security minister Salif Traore told AFP. 

A spokesman for the ministry added: 'A group of Islamist gunmen involved in the storming of a luxury hotel in Mali's capital, Bamako, continued to hold out against security forces on Friday even after the evacuation of all civilians from the building.'

'The attackers no longer have hostages. They are dug in in the upper floors. They are alone with the Malian special forces who are trying to dislodge them,' spokesman Amadou Sangho said.

Rescuers help an struggling man through the hotel after he escaped from the armed militants, who have now fled to the roof

Several police officers wearing balaclavas and armed with AK-47s head for the hotel shortly after arriving on the scene

Armed jihadists have gone on a deadly shooting rampage inside the Radisson Blu hotel (pictured) in the centre of Bamako, Mali

Mali has been battling with jihadi militants, predominantly in the north of the country

The Rezidor Hotel Group, the company which owns the hotel, released a statement, 'extending our deep sympathy to the families'.

'I want to express my deep personal concern for all of the guests and employees affected by the terrible events which are happening today at the Radisson Blu Bamako Hotel in Mali,' said company chief executive Wolfgang M Neumann.

'I speak on behalf of the entire Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group in extending our deep sympathy to the families, colleagues and friends of all those touched by today's events.'

'We have established dedicated phone lines to support the families of guests and employees, as well as a media enquiry line,' it added.

The US embassy in Bamako urged embassy staff to seek cover from the attack, tweeting that all Americans in Mali should 'shelter in place'.

Malian Special Forces have been seen outside the hotel and are assessing the situation while France's national security service have confirmed that about 40 members of the French National Gendarmerie Intervention Group are en route to Bamako.

One hotel guest is helped out of the building by armed security personnel after being caught up in the horrific siege

Security personnel discuss the rescue plan as special forces make their way through the building. At least three of the gunmen have been killed, according to local media

Army officers lead one man outside the hotel as the rescuers continue to try and secure the hotel floors

A security official takes cover behind a green barrel whilst standing watch near the Radisson Blu hotel

Dozens of hostages remain trapped inside the building despite news that special forces have entered the building

Armed with machine guns and carrying armoured shields, Malian troops prepare to break the siege and rescue the hostages

As many as 40 members of the French National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (pictured) have been sent from Paris to Bamako, Mali

A spokesman for the service said they are heading from two different units of special police forces trained for emergency situations. British Special Forces are in Mali and also expected to head towards Bamako to help with the terror operation.

Michael Skapoullis, who escaped the besieged hotel today, told the BBC: 'We live in a complex near the Radisson hotel. Every day I go to the [Radisson] gym from 6 to 8 in the morning.

'Today, after seven-ish, it was extremely quiet, there were two people inside the gym. They left and I was a bit worried.

'We had the music on all the time at the gym so I didn't hear any gunshots. I left the gym and I tried to go in the lobby.

'I opened the lobby door slowly, slowly, and I saw bullets on the ground. So I closed the door of the lobby and I went door to door, I went back in the gym, and from the gym I left the hotel.

'Outside the hotel, there were police and military crew who escorted me and brought me to my house.' 

Footage has emerged from inside the hotel where special forces have began clearing the building floor by floor

Malian special forces approach the back of the Radisson Blu Hotel in preparation to raid the building and take out the hostages

Armed police take cover outside the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako as they await orders before entering the building

A team of 50 special forces have been clearing the hotel as dozens of officers standby outside the main building

Members of the Malian army arrive at the scene and prepare to help hostages who have escaped the horrific attack in Bamako

Dozens of residents gather under the protection of the trees to watch as Malian Special Forces attempt to enter the building

Heavily armoured and dressed all in black, a member of the Malian Special Forces gives instructions during the terrifying siege

The horrific terror attacks comes just a few days after ISIS gunmen massacred 129 people on the streets of Paris. 

Suicide bombers targeted the Stade de France, cafes and restaurants as well as taking dozens of hostages at a death metal concert at the Bataclan theatre.

The co-ordinated attack was later claimed by ISIS, leading to a mass police hunt for one of the surviving gunmen and the ringleader of the deadly attack. 

Fears remain that the attack in Bamako may be linked or inspired by the Paris attack, where French nationals were targeted for the government's decision to carry out air strikes against ISIS.

French president Francois Hollande says France is ready to help Mali with all means necessary in the wake of the hotel attack in the capital, Bamako.

Hollande asks all French citizens in Mali to make contact with the French Embassy there 'in order that everything is made to offer them protection.' 

'We should yet again stand firm and show our solidarity with a friendly country, Mali,' Mr Hollande said in a short statement. 

In Belgium, Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said there were four Belgians registered at the attacked hotel but it's unclear if they were taken hostage by the gunmen or not. 

In response to the terror attack in Bamako, Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has cut short its tip to Chad where he was attending a meeting of regional leaders.

The Mali presidency said on Twitter that Mr Keita will be back to Bamako 'in the next hours'.

French president Francois Hollande says France is ready to help Mali with all means necessary in the wake of the hotel attack in Bamako

Terrified civilians run for their lives through the streets of Bamako after escaping the hotel siege

Police officers tend to a woman at the scene following the shocking events inside the hotel

Chaotic scenes near the Radisson Blu hotel, where dozens of guests have been held hostage by gunmen

Worried locals stand and watch from a distance near the Radisson Blu hotel during the siege

Army officers direct several of the hotel guests to safety. Witnesses describe how the gunmen tested each guest about their knowledge of the Koran

Witnesses described hearing at least one explosion coming from the hotel, which is a popular choice for foreign dignitaries visiting Mali

Mali, a former colony of France, has been battling several terror groups, predominantly located in the north of the country.

French special forces have been assisting the Malian army in their long standing counter-terrorism operation against militants from Ansar ad-Din, al-Qaeda in the Maghreb and Tuareg rebels.  

The shooting in Mali follows a nearly 24-hour siege and hostage-taking at another hotel in August in the central Malian town of Sevare.

Four soldiers, five UN workers and four attackers were killed in the deadly attack, thought to have been carried out by Al-Qaeda linked militants.

Islamist groups have been waging attacks in Mali despite a June peace deal between former Tuareg rebels in the north of the country and rival pro-government armed groups.

Northern Mali fell in March-April 2012 to Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist groups long concentrated in the area before being ousted by an ongoing French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

Despite the peace deal, large swathes of Mali remain beyond the control of government and foreign forces. 

Heavily armed Malian troops take up position over the Radisson Blu hotel in the country's capital Bamako

Military officers prepare outside the hotel, where as many as 10 gunmen have opened fire and taken hostages

Heavily armed police patrol the streets surrounding the hotel following the gunmen takeover of the building

No group have claimed responsibility for the attack but Al Qaeda affiliated militants have previously carried out attacks in the Sahel based country

Malian Special Forces head to the scene of the developing siege in Bamako after gunman enter hotel

French troops have been working in Mali as part of a joint anti-terrorist operation in the troubled Sahel region

The Radisson Blu hotel has long been a popular hangout for western diplomats and ex-pats living in the Malian capital of Bamako

MALI'S LONG BATTLE WITH TERRORISM AND REBELLION

In 2012, a major rebellion against Mali's government heralded the rise of terrorism across the country.

It was led by the nomadic Tuareg rebels and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), a military organisation partly made up of former Libyan soldiers.

The MNLA took control of the north and declared independence for the unrecognised state of Azawad.

But Islamist groups including Ansar Dine and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), who helped MNLA defeat the government, turned on the indigenous Tuareg and seized the north with the goal of implementing sharia law in Mali.

The French army launched Opération Serval in January 2013 and recaptured most of the north a month later.

Islamists continued to operate in the north and began spreading into central and southern areas at the start of this year.

On 6 March, extremists shot dead five people, including two Europeans, in a restaurant in the country's capital Bamako.

The dead bodies were strewn outside a popular nightclub in the city after the attack which took place overnight.

The Foreign Office has advised against all travel to northern parts of Mali, where Islamist groups are said to operate, and all but essential travel to southern areas including Bamako.

It warns there is a 'high threat of terrorism and kidnap' in areas north of Mopti but 'the threat exists throughout the country'.

The FCO warning adds: 'Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners.'

It adds the situation in the country remains unstable and travellers should take several days worth of food and water 'in case disturbances take place'.

The Foreign Office has advised against all travel to northern parts of Mali, where Islamist groups are said to operate, and all but essential travel to southern areas including Bamako

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