BEIJING, Aug. 1 -- A suspect in the failed London transit bombings admitted Saturday to a role in the attack but said it was only intended to be an attention-grabbing strike, not a deadly one, a legal expert familiar with the investigation said.

    Osman Hussain told interrogators he wasn't carrying enough explosives even to "harm people nearby," the expert said. The expert spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the ongoing investigation, which under Italian law must remain secret.

    Hussain, 27, one of four suspected bombers in the July 21 attacks, is suspected of trying to bomb the Shepherd's Bush subway station in west London, two weeks after the four deadly attacks on the city's transit system that killed 56 people, including the four suicide bombers.

    Hussain was arrested Friday in Rome at his brother's apartment after police traced calls he made from a cell phone as he traveled across Europe.

    Hussain was calm and coherent at a hearing in a Rome prison Saturday, but doesn't consider himself a terrorist and may be gearing up to fight his extradition to Britain, his court-appointed lawyer, Antonietta Sonnessa, said.

    Grilled by a pair of Italy's top anti-terrorism prosecutors, Hussain said that months ago in London, his chief who he identified as "Muktar" taught him how to assemble explosives using fertilizers and stuff explosives and timers into backpacks, the Rome daily La Repubblica said.

    Hussain was referring to Muktar Said Ibrahim, 27, one of the other bombing suspects captured Friday in a London raid, the newspaper said. Ibrahim is suspected of planting explosives on a London bus on July 21.

    "Muktar urged us to be careful" La Repubblica quoted Hussain as telling his interrogators. "We didn't want to kill, just sow terror."

    He also reportedly told investigators the bombers were motivated by anger over the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

    Opposing extradition could delay a decision on extradition, a process which can take weeks or months.

    
(Source: Shenzhen Daily)