FAMILIES of serving troops were today praying their loved ones remained safe.
Katherine Dixon's step-son Steven, 22, of Accrington, is a gunner commando in the Royal Artillery.
She said: "We're very anxious and feel so helpless. Our sympathies go out to all the parents of soldiers."
Sulimen Elhashim, of Devonshire Street, Accrington, has two sons, Jason, 22, and Thomas, 18, both in the Gulf. Thomas recently completed eight weeks' training with the York Royal Logistics Corps, while Jason is serving with as a paratrooper with the First Battalion Parachute Regiment, 20 miles south of Iraq.
He said: "I get upset when I can't speak to them. All the lads there have all our support. We can't do anything but pray they will come home safe and nobody gets hurt."
Stephanie Haworth, of James Street, Great Harwood, whose 18-year-old daughter Aly-Joy is a medic for the Paratroppers, said: "I'm sick with worry. She's right in the front line. I'm distraught, she's only 18."
Diane Fawcett, a mother-of-two from Lower Darwen, whose husband Clive is a squaddie, said: "We're worried but they've all been trained and hopefully everything will be OK. The children are coping without dad."
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