He said that for the first time the attacks against American troops were being coordinated regionally and possibly nationally by remnants of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's security forces, guerrilla fighters and Iraqi prisoners released before the war.

The increasingly frequent and sophisticated attacks against American forces, and Iraqis who helped them, have stirred alarm among US officials and led Rumsfeld and other commanders to rethink force levels.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to expect this to go on ... We could see an increase in the number of attacks," Rumsfeld said, referring to casualties now being suffered almost daily in Iraq.

Rumsfeld and his top aides had expressed optimism in recent weeks that American troop levels in Iraq could begin to decline as additional allied ground forces arrived later this summer, and more newly trained Iraqi police officers took up positions around the country.

He had said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program on Sunday: "It seems to me that the numbers of US forces are unlikely to go up. "

But on Monday, the Indian government rejected a US request for Indian peacekeeping troops in Iraq, saying such a deployment would be considered only under a UN mandate.

Since May 1, when President George W. Bush declared the end of major combat, more than 30 US troops have been killed and scores wounded in attacks.

There are currently 148,000 American and 13,000 non-American troops in Iraq, with 17,000 more allied soldiers to arrive over the summer.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2003)