Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano greets Libya's leader Moammar Gadhafi at the Quirinale palace in Rome. Photo: Reuters

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, whose decades-old regime admitted to sponsoring terrorism in the 1980s, has likened the United States to Al-Qaeda during a landmark visit to Italy.

Recalling the 1986 US bombing of Libya that killed dozens of people including Gaddafi's adopted daughter, he asked: "What's the difference between the US attack on our homes and the terrorist actions of al-Qaeda?"

Gadhafi, 67, who arrived in Italy to a red-carpet welcome on Wednesday, left Italian officials scrambling to confirm Rome's close ties with Washington.

"Just because we play host to Moammar Gadhafi doesn't mean we agree with everything he says," said a clearly embarrassed Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.

The eccentric Gadhafi, in power since 1969, also slammed the United States for allowing Iraq to turn into a magnet for al-Qaeda militants.