Paul Manook, an Armenian who is married to an Ulster woman and lives in Co Down, told how Marou Awnis 48, was riddled with 40 bullets during the fatal shooting last week.

Her best friend Geneva Jalal, 30, was also killed after a four-vehicle convoy was attacked.

Mr Manook, 57, vowed to bring his sister's three children -Nora (21), Karoon (20) and Alice (14) - to safety in Northern Ireland.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last night, he said that the girls - who also lost their father, Azad, three years ago due to complications after a heart bypass operation - were inconsolable following their mother's violent death.

"It's still so raw," said MrManook, who was born in Baghdad and now lives in Millisle.

He added: "Her daughters just want their mum back. She was quite a tower.

"She gave them strength and cared for them, especially after their father died.

"I've been speaking to them every day since it happened and I told them I would work everything out."

He added: "I would like to bring them here, and I'm hoping that the British Government will allow me to do that."

Mrs Awnis, a former scientist with the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, died after security guards from a private security firm opened fire as she was driving her Oldsmobile through Baghdad's Karrada district.

The 48-year-old died instantly along with Ms Jalal, the front seat passenger. Two other passengers in the car survived.

In a statement, the Australian-owned security firm Unity Resources Group said that its guards had feared a suicide attack after they were " approached at speed by a white car".

The company's Chief Operating Officer Michael Priddin added: "The vehicle did not heed warnings and failed to halt.

"Fearing a suicide attack, only then did the team use their weapons in a final attempt to stop the vehicle."

He added: "We deeply regret the loss of these lives."

The Iraqi government has condemed the killings as "reckless."

Mr Manook, who has three children with his wife of 30 years, Isobel (60), said he needed more information.

"When our brother Albert phoned to break the news I burst into tears and I couldn't stop crying," he said.

"She was shot 40 times. It's a terrible way to die.

"I'm in shock. Every night I wake up and ask myself what my sister's face was like when she died.

"I'd like to know the truth about what happened.

"She wasn't in a dangerous area. Marou was coming back from the church with her friend when she was shot. They had collected another woman, who was injured in the shooting, and a 15-year-old boy, who wasn't.

He added: "They are still in shock.

"Every time they see my sister's daughters they start to shiver uncontrollably because they feel they should have died as well."

Mr Manook said that his brother - who spent time in the notorious concentration camp at Auschwitz, Poland - had the harrowing task of identifying her body.

"Albert was horrified at what he saw," said Mr Manook.

"He said her head was completely ripped open. She was completely riddled with bullets from the chest upwards."

After her husband's death, Mrs Awnis supplemented a small income by working as an unofficial taxi driver, chauffeuring her daughters and neighbours' children to university.

"Marou was dressed completely in black when she was killed," Mr Manook said.

"It's tradition in the Middle East that when your husband dies, you dress in black.

"She also had to wear a head cover, which, again, was also black.

"It's possible that has something to do with it (why she was shot). Maybe that's why they thought she was a suicide bomber."

Mr Manook - who was devastated at being unable to attend his sister's funeral, which was held the day after the tragedy - last saw his sister 15 years ago at a family reunion in Amman, Jordan.

However, he clearly recalled their last phone conversation just a few days before her death.

"I warned my sister to get out of Iraq the last time we spoke and I told her to avoid areas of difficulty," he said.

"I can't believe I am never going to see her again. I miss her terribly; the way she talked, so nicely and calmly, and her beautiful smile."

He added: "Police investigations are under way. But nothing will ever bring Marou back. The pain of that will never go away."