'Saddam uncertainty fuels attacks in Iraq'

The former Iraqi president has not been seen since the fall of the Iraqi capital Baghdad two months ago.

"It might give heart to the Baathists who may want to hope that they can take back that country, which they are not going to succeed in doing," Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld said late on Monday.

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"We'll just keep looking for him. We'll find him," he told reporters on a flight to Portugal at the start of a four-day European visit that includes stops in Albania, Germany and Brussels for NATO meetings.

An American soldier, shot dead at a checkpoint near the Syrian border late on Sunday, was the latest killed in a spate of attacks on US troops since they toppled Saddam.

Since Baghdad fell on April 9, 39 US soldiers have been killed by enemies and 41 in accidents, bringing total deaths in the Iraq campaign to 182.

Rumsfeld said the string of attacks on US forces was due to Saddam sympathizers in the north of the country who had not been engaged in as heavy battles as the south during the war.

"There is no one who thinks that it's a well-organized nationally directed campaign," he told reporters.

The soldier was killed late on Sunday when a vehicle drew up at a traffic checkpoint, and the occupants asked for medical help, US Central Command said in a statement.

Two people with pistols got out and shot the soldier. His comrades returned fire, killing one attacker and capturing a second. At least one other assailant fled in the vehicle.

US Central Command said on Tuesday that an explosion at an Iraqi ammunition facility south of Baghdad on Monday had killed three Iraqis and wounded two. No US troops were injured.