Syrian PM survives car bomb attack
Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi has survived a car bomb attack in the capital, Damascus, state media say.
The blast in the capital's western Mezzeh district targeted Mr Halqi's convoy, state TV said, reportedly causing a number of casualties.
t is unclear whether the blast was a suicide bombing or a planted device.
State television carried a brief interview with Mr Halqi, saying that it was filmed after the attack.
He appears assured but somewhat shaken in the interview, in which he talks about a meeting he has just attended on the economy.
State TV said the blast happened at a busy intersection, near a public garden and a school. The upmarket neighbourhood is home to government buildings, the residences of several political figures and a military airport vital to the regime's defences.
"I was walking in the street when suddenly there was a very powerful explosion and I saw a car burning and people running," a witness told AFP.
An unnamed Syrian official said the explosion was caused by a bomb placed underneath a parked car in the area, the Associated Press news agency reported.
An earlier report said it had been a suicide attack, BBC reports.
