Arrested man confesses to bombings: Italian press

"We wanted to make an attack, but only as a demonstration," several newspapers quoted 27-year-old Osman Hussain as saying, without citing a source.

Italy's best-selling newspaper, the Corriere della Sera, expressed fears that the presence of one of the presumed London bombers could be linked to an planned attack here.

"Was he here just as part of his escape or to prepare a new attack?" it asked.

Rome daily Il Messaggero headlined: "The suicide bomber was among us," and reported that police believe Hussain could have been in Rome to prepare a terrorist attack.

Italian police moved in to arrest Hussain on Friday after tracking his mobile phone through France and Italy before his arrival in Rome by train on Thursday.

British police had provided their Italian counterparts with the phone number, which was initially tracked to the Waterloo Station area of London on Monday.