“A terrorist explosion rocked Mazzeh district near Ibn Rushed park in Damascus on Monday causing casualties and material damage,” SANA reported.

An official source told SANA reporter that the terrorist explosion targeted the convoy of Prime Minister, Dr. Wael al-Halqi, stressing that the Premier is safe and he survived the explosion .

State television showed footage of heavily damaged cars and debris in the area of the blast.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, said one of Halqi’s bodyguards was killed, while another bodyguard and his driver were badly injured.

Medical sources said that 5 civilians were killed by the blast.

Meanwhile, state television carried a brief interview with Halqi, saying that it was filmed after the attack. The footage shows the Premier talking about a meeting he had just attended on the economy.

Halqi, who was appointed prime minister in August 2012 after his predecessor Riyad Hijab defected to the opposition.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

A bombing in July 2012 that targeted the national security headquarters in Damascus during a cabinet meeting killed Syria’s defense minister and his deputy, Assad’s brother-in-law.

Last week, the Obama administration said it believes that Assad’s government has used chemical weapons, particularly the nerve gas sarin, against Syrian rebels and civilians “on a small scale.”

President Obama has said the use of chemical weapons by Syria, or the transfer of stockpiles to terrorist groups, would be a “red line” that could trigger U.S. reaction.

“They [Council members] expressed their deep sympathy and sincere condolences to the families of the victims of these heinous acts and to the people of Syria,” added Ambassador Gert Rosenthal of Guatemala, which holds the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of October, in a statement he read out to the media at UN Headquarters in New York.

In the press statement, the Council noted that Jebhat al-Nusra – an Islamist militant group affiliated with the Al-Qaida terrorist group – had claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to media reports, at least two car bombs exploded on Wednesday in Aleppo’s main Saadallah al-Jabiri Square and another bomb exploded a few hundred metres away, killing at least 48 people.

“The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed,” Ambassador Rosenthal said in the press statement.

In addition, the Council members reiterated their determination to combat all forms of terrorism, in accordance with its responsibilities under the UN Charter.

They also reminded States that they must ensure that measures taken to combat terrorism comply with all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law.