"We did see busloads of people coming out of Syria, into the country," Rumsfeld told CBS television. "In the firefight, a lot of them got killed last night."

He described the fighters as Syrian nationals rather than Syrian soldiers.

Asked if the United States would go beyond diplomatic measures in acting against Syria, Rumsfeld said: "That's for presidents and countries to decide not for me."

If Syria were found to be harboring Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, "then I would say Syria would have made an even bigger mistake," Rumsfeld said.

"The last thing I would do would be to discuss" what action the United States would take if Saddam were in Syria, he said.

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