THE grieving family of stabbed pregnant mum Nadia Khan have released the first photograph of her.

The 24-year-old mother-of-two died, in front of her children, at their home in Holker Street, Manningham, on Sunday afternoon. Her unborn child also died in the incident.

Her distraught relatives yesterday issued a photograph of the devoted young mother, and paid a loving tribute to her.

She doted on her five-year-old son, Ameen, and three-year-old daughter Aleena, who were in the house at the time she died.

The children are now being cared for by Nadia's sister, Anisa, at a family address.

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Nadia lived at the house in Holker Street with her children, her mother Shamim, sister Anisa and brother Ishaq.

Anisa, 20, said yesterday: "I wish, and I know, that Nadia has gone straight to Heaven. She was always smiling and I am sure she is still smiling on us.

"She was my only sister and we were really close. She was older than me and she was like a second mother. I looked up to her and was guided by her.

"We went everywhere together and when we went out shopping we would buy the same things."

Anisa said Nadia's children were "okay" and had managed to get some sleep.

"They are with me at the moment. It helps that they are used to me, though it is quite difficult in the circumstances.

"It is worse at night. We all cry for Nadia and the children ask where their Mummy is and when she is coming home. We just have to live with it and the children will have to grow up without their mother."

She said that losing her sister was made more difficult because the family could not make any funeral arrangements because the police and coroner were not yet able to release Nadia's body.

But she praised the public for their support.

"It is not just family and friends who have rallied round, but the whole community. They have been at the mosque supporting us and people we don't even know have come together to help. We are grateful for everybody's support, which has helped us at this difficult time."

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Nadia, who was six months pregnant, suffered fatal stab wounds to the chest at around 4.45pm on Sunday. She died shortly after. Her body was found inside the house by police and paramedics.

Police immediately said they were treating her death as a "domestic-related incident" and launched a manhunt for Nadia's husband, Tariq Khan, 26.

He was arrested at an address in Bradford Moor at 3am on Monday and was held in custody for questioning.

Nadia had met her husband on a family visit to Pakistan around six or seven years ago and had returned there with her mother to marry him soon after.

Khan came to Bradford a few months ago and is thought to have been on a residence visa. It is understood he had been facing deportation proceedings this week.