21 People, Including 1 U.S. Citizen Killed In Mali Attack
Around 170 individuals were held captive by attackers at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Mali on Friday. Initial reports from the United Nations stated that 27 people were killed during the attack, including the two attackers. However, Mali government revealed the attack resulted to 21 deaths.
ABC News reported Saturday that a US citizen named Anita Datar was among the victims of the attack at the Malian hotel. US President Barrack Obama extended his condolences to the bereaved family of the 41-year-old American.
He also pledged to be "relentless" in hunting those who are responsible for the "appalling" incident.
"On behalf of the American people I want to extend our deepest condolences to the people of Mali and the victims and families, including at least one American," Obama says. "These were innocent people who had everything to live for, and they'll be remembered for the joy and love that they brought to the world."
Meanwhile, a witness recalled the incident and said that attackers barged into the hotel and sprayed bullets while people were taking their breakfast Friday morning. Employee Tamba Couye revealed that the gunmen fired at "anything that moved," as noted by CNN Saturday.
"They started firing at the tables," Couye recalls. "They walked through the hotel door and started to shoot at everybody. Then they returned to the restaurant and closed its doors."
He goes on, "One of the attackers was yelling "Allahu akbar!" These people started shooting. They were shooting at everybody without asking a single question. They were shooting at anything that moved."
After the incident, Malian security forces are hunting down more than three persons who are responsible for the attack.
"The search has started and I can tell you that we are looking for more than three people at the moment," says Malian army commander Modibo Nama Traore, as forecasted by The Guardian Saturday.
