Milan, Italy - Two Morrocan men suspected of links with al-Qaeda have been arrested in Italy for allegedly planning bomb attacks, including one against Milan's Duomo cathedral.

"The plot was uncovered well before those being investigated were able to procure explosives," Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said commenting on Tuesday's arrests.

The 31-year-old Rachid Ilhami, a welder by trade, and his associate Abdelkader Ghafir, 43, a bricklayer, were apprehended in Giussano, a town 25 kilometres north of Milan.

Investigators say wire tappings and computer files seized during the arrests, suggest the pair were also plotting to blow up a supermarket and a police station.

The two are being held on terrorism charges and for possible collusion with al-Qaeda, officials say.

A request by prosecutors for the arrest of five other suspects linked to the investigation was turned down by magistrate Silvana Petromer, news reports said.

Ilhami, who has been living in Italy since the age of 10 and is married with two children, worked in his spare time at a centre run by peace activists near Macherio, near a villa owned by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Milan-daily Corriere della Sera, said Wednesday.

In a television interview, Maroni said Italian authorities were maintaining "a very high state of attention" and that "our police are in a position to thwart risks" similar to those of last week's attacks in Mumbai, India. (dpa)