ROME: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said a suicide bomber was plotting to blow him up at a soccer match, and accused his political rivals of exposing Italy to terrorist attacks by questioning his word.

“I am the subject of a direct threat. A suicide bomber in a stadium aiming for me,” Mr Berlusconi told Italian newspaper Libero in an interview published on Thursday.

“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.

“We are talking about saving our country,” he said.

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.

A senior judicial source said the Milan prosecutors’ office was not aware of any plot against Mr Berlusconi, but added that the Italian secret services would not necessarily inform investigative magistrates of such a threat.

The interview came just days after Mr Berlusconi said he had repeatedly tried to persuade his friend — US President George Bush — against invading Iraq, a comment that drew ridicule from opposition politicians.

Mr Berlusconi insisted he had never wanted an invasion of Iraq and said he hoped his words would be heard across the Arab world.

“(I am) a leader who tried in every way to prevent the war, who did not attack anyone and who is not at war,” he said.

INTERNET THREATS: Italy, a close US ally which sent 3,000 troops to Iraq after the fall of Baghdad in 2003, has received numerous Internet threats purported to be from Muslim militants. Several threats have identified Mr Berlusconi as a target.