Bomb blast strikes Damascus' Old City

(Vatican Radio) A taxi rigged with explosives blew up near a police station in Syria's capital Sunday, killing 13 people, as U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to push his call for a cease-fire.

Syria's official SANA news agency said the blast took place in a popular shopping district largely populated by Syria's Christian minority and one of the oldest areas in Damascus. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the deadly bombing, but Islamist groups fighting alongside the rebels have claimed to be behind attacks against security targets in the capital.

Elsewhere in Damascus, Brahimi - the joint U.N.-Arab special envoy for Syria - urged both sides in the conflict to support a cease-fire during the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha that begins October 26.

Brahimi told reporters following a closed-door meeting that he met earlier with Syrian opposition groups inside and outside the country to discuss his truce plan. He said he received "promises" but not a "commitment" from them to honor the cease-fire.

Listen to Nathan Morley's report: