A soldier from the 1st Armored Division and his Iraqi interpreter were killed in a grenade and small arms attack in north Baghdad Monday, the U.S. military said. Spokesman Cpl. Todd Pruden said the military had no further information on the soldier's death. It brought to 152 the number of U.S. troops killed in action since the March 20 start of occupation. **US to Establish Pro-American Iraqi 'Civil Defense Force'*** The top commander of American and international troops in Iraq said he is establishing an Iraqi "civil defense force," or armed militia, of about 6,800 men to help US forces. Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said he will establish eight battalions of armed Iraqi militiamen, each with about 850 men. They will be trained by conventional U.S. forces and are expected to be ready to begin operating within 45 days, he said. Abizaid predicted that resistance to U.S. forces in Iraq will grow in coming months as progress is made in creating a new government. Abizaid said that the establishment earlier this month of a Governing Council of Iraqi political leaders was a good first step that improves the outlook for getting the country back on its feet. "But in the short run it creates great anxiety among our enemies, and they'll increase the level of resistance," Abizaid said. "So I'm enormously optimistic about our opportunity for success, as long as we don't lose our nerve." According to AP, Abizaid was speaking with a small group of reporters over lunch at a Baghdad hotel. He was joined at the lunch by Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defense, who has made a point of insisting that the attackers not be called "resistance." He said they should be called "forces of reaction" whose sole aim is to restore Saddam to power and thereby regain the positions of privilege and power they enjoyed in the old regime. **Bremer: Saddam Alive and in Iraq*** U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer in Iraq Sunday said he believed Saddam Hussein is still alive and remains in Iraq, but is not orchestrating daily attacks on US forces. U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer also told NBC's "Meet the Press" that Americans should prepare for a lengthy stay in Iraq. "It's clear that given the size of the task, we are going to be there for a while," he said. "I don't know how many years." Bremer said there's no evidence of any central control in the attacks. "What we're seeing is highly professional but very small, sort of squad-level attacks, five or six people at a time attacking us," he said. But getting the deposed Iraqi leader would help the situation. "The sooner we can either kill him or capture him, the better, because the fact that his fate is unknown certainly gives his supporters the chance to go around and try to rally support for him," said Bremer. In time, Bremer said of Saddam, "we'll get him." **PHOTO CAPTION*** Iraqi boy throws rock at US soldiers in Najaf, Iraq, Sunday July 20, 2003. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)