At least two US soldiers were killed overnight in Iraq in separate attacks, the military said, as anti-American attacks showed no sign of abating, prompting Washington to look to its allies for support. One soldier was killed near the town of Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad, when a convoy was ambushed with small arms fire at around 6:30 pm on Wednesday, a US Central Command statement. A military spokesman had initially said two soldiers were killed in that attack. A separate rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on a US convoy in Tikrit, 175 kilometers north of the capital, late Wednesday killed one soldier and wounded another. Mortars were also fired at US positions in Ramadi, 100 kilometers west of the capital, a spokesman said, while residents in the town of Fallujah, midway between Baghdad and Ramadi, said attackers had targeted the US base with mortars and RPGs. Mortars also hit a logistics base near Balad, north of Baghdad, damaging a vehicle, but without causing any casualties, the spokesman added, in the latest of what seems to be a continuous string of attacks on US troops. The rising cost of the campaign, with a daily bill of 130 million dollars and an average of more than one US fatality every day since May 1, has prompted the United States to seek support. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that postwar reconstruction needed the contribution of a broad array of nations. "We've got 19 countries on the ground, we've got commitment from another 19 ... Italy and Spain have both made commitments," said Rumsfeld, who added he expected additional deployments of foreign troops beginning in September. "Our goal is to get a large number of international forces from a lot of countries," he said, including France and Germany, among the staunchest opponents of the US-led war on Iraq. But French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said in an interview that Paris would only join a multinational peacekeeping force in Iraq if it were under a UN mandate. **Bush Says U.S. Must Stay Course in Iraq*** Pleading for patience, President Bush said the United States will "have to remain tough" in Iraq despite attacks on U.S. soldiers that killed at least two more Americans on Thursday. Bush spoke in Gaborone, Botswana, amid a debate at home about erroneous evidence that the administration cited as part of its justification for the invasion of Iraq. A group of arms control experts accused the administration of misrepresenting intelligence information to justify the war. Bush, responding to concern about the rising casualty toll, said, "There's no question we have a security issue in Iraq, and we've just got to deal with it person to person. We're going to have to remain tough." More than 70 American soldiers have died since Bush declared major combat over May 1. "It's going take more than 90 to 100 days for people to recognize the great joys of freedom and the responsibilities that come with freedom," he said. "It's very important for us to stay the course, and we will stay the course." **PHOTO CAPTION** Three US Army soldiers from the 315 Infantry on foot patrol pass by a mosque, in the flashpoint town of Fallujah, some 50kms west of Baghdad. (AFP/Stan Honda)