ROME: Italy’s postal service intercepted a threatening letter containing a bullet addressed to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, while letter bomb sent to a minister caught fire, police said today.

A large envelope containing a letter addressed to Berlusconi with the threat “you will end up like a rat” was discovered yesterday in a post office in the Libate suburb of the northern city of Milan, police said. The package, which also referred to other leaders of Berlusconi’s centre-right People of Freedom party, was addressed to the prime minister’s private residence in the Milan region, they said. Berlusconi was in Libya for an Arab League summit. The ANSA news agency reported that the anonymous letter contained drawings of figures under which were written the names of four PDL leaders including Defence Minister Ingazio La Russa.

In another Milan post office, a letter bomb caught fire today. The Milan prefecture said the package contained threats against Interior Minister Roberto Maroni and was claimed by the Informal Anarchist Federation.