BRDO, Jan 30: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, criticized by some for getting a facelift instead of visiting troops in Iraq, shot back on Friday that the trip was too dangerous.

Since a suicide attack in November killed 19 Italians, there has been persistent media speculation that Mr Berlusconi would make a morale-boosting visit to troops in Iraq.

"I had decided to go at the end of last year," Mr Berlusconi told journalists in the Slovenian city of Brdo. "But the news was reported by certain newspapers and the armed forces told me there was a real danger not only for the prime minister but for aeroplane staff and soldiers," he said.

Guerillas, armed with surface-to-air missiles, could have learned of the "arrival of a member of the Italian government ... so I decided not to go", he said.

Several leaders have visited Iraq in recent months to boost morale, including US President George Bush, Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.-Reuters