(CNN) -- Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi survived a bombing targeting his motorcade on Monday in an upscale Damascus neighborhood, but the government and the opposition each reported casualties. "The premier is safe," the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said, citing an official government source. The incident occurred in a leafy swath of the Mezzeh district in southwest Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group opposed to President Bashar al-Assad's government, also reported that the prime minister survived. The observatory said one of al-Halqi's escorts and five civilians were killed. Another escort and a driver were badly injured, the group said.
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NEW: U.N. condemns attack, calls for immediate end to violence
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Syrian opposition group reports deaths
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The blast takes place in Mezzeh, near President Bashar al-Assad's palace
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No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion
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