Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said a suicide bomber was plotting to kill him at a soccer match.
"I am the subject of a direct threat. A suicide bomber in a stadium aiming for me," Mr Berlusconi told Italian newspaper Liberoin an interview published today.
"But it is not a question of me. We're also talking about Italy. Aren't people worried about this?" he added in what the conservative daily called a furious and bitter outburst.
Mr Berlusconi, who owns top Italian soccer club AC Milan and sometimes watches them play at Milan's San Siro stadium, did not say when the plot was uncovered or if it was an ongoing threat.
He accused political rivals of heightening the risk of terrorist attacks by questioning his integrity.
An official at the interior ministry said its anti-terrorist unit had received information about a plan to strike at Mr Berlusconi but declined to give any further information.
The Liberointerview came just days after Mr Berlusconi said he had repeatedly tried to persuade President Bush, a friend, against invading Iraq -
a comment that drew ridicule from opposition politicians.