A security advisor from Northern Ireland has been killed in Iraq on the day he was honoured for courage.
Ray Moore, 40, a former RUC officer and soldier who lived in Tandragee, County Armagh, died in an explosion on Friday.
He had just been honoured by the Royal Humane Society for helping rescue US soldiers wounded by a suicide bomber.
David Seaton from his employers, ArmorGroup International, said a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle.
He said Mr Moore was "a very brave individual" who had been in the military for 16 years after being a policeman and then becoming a security contractor.
"Mr Moore was among a group of British security advisors who mounted a daring rescue operation to save US servicemen after a suicide bomb attack"
"Attacks and injuries happen on a regular basis - therefore no-one is shielded from it," he said.
"In an incident like this when someone as respected as Ray dies, then his colleagues will be devastated - there will be a pause for contemplation and the majority will continue with the work."
Mr Moore was among a group of British security advisors who mounted a daring rescue operation to save US servicemen after a suicide bomb attack.
He and five colleagues worked in extreme heat to drag concrete slabs away and pull injured soldiers from underneath a bridge which was in danger of collapsing in Mahmoudiya.
ArmorGroup has provided protective security services to government and commercial clients involved in the reconstruction process in Iraq since 2003.
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