Iraqis reacted with anger and disbelief today to news that Irish-British-Iraqi aid worker Ms Margaret Hassan, who worked in Iraq for decades before being kidnapped a month ago, had been killed by her captors.
Margaret Hassan
Irish-born Hassan, 59, moved to Iraq more than 30 years ago after marrying an Iraqi engineer. She learnt Arabic and became a pillar of support in local communities, often helping the needy in the face of opposition during Saddam Hussein's regime.
Those who knew her, worked with her or were helped by her described Ms Hassan as a formidable woman who went about her work with determination. She helped the disabled, the orphaned and those without water or sanitation calmly and efficiently.
One of the hospitals she regularly supported was a spinal cord clinic in Baghdad run by Qayder al-Chalabi, who said her loss was a huge blow to all Iraqis.
"(The killers) made a very big mistake. This was the wrong person," he said today.
"I cannot imagine that these things could happen to her because she was a very humanitarian person. She felt our suffering, she understood the suffering of the Iraqi people.
"We need to admire and remember her. We must have a ceremony every year to remember her," he said, adding that he believed a statue should be erected in her honour.
Ms Hassan was kidnapped on October 19 as she was being driven to work in Baghdad, where she was the director of the local operation of aid organisation Care International.
A video released to Arabic news channel Al Jazeeralast week showed a hooded figure shooting a blindfolded woman in the head.
Hassan's husband and British foreign office officials have said they believe the video tape is "probably genuine" and her family has said they believe Ms Margaret Hassan is dead.