The United Nations Security Council has unanimously condemned a deadly terrorist attack in Kohat (a district in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province), calling for those responsible to be held accountable. The September 18 assault, which killed at least 23 people including 17 police officers and six civilians, involved a suicide bomber detonating an explosives-laden vehicle near a mosque during Friday prayers before militants stormed the adjacent police compound; eight attackers were killed in the security forces' response. In a statement issued by Council President Jérôme Bonnafont of France, UNSC members urged all states to cooperate with Pakistan in bringing the "perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors" to justice, reaffirming that terrorism constitutes one of the gravest threats to international peace and security. The attack was claimed by Ittehadul Mujahideen, a militant group led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, and prompted Pakistani armed forces to carry out retaliatory airstrikes on terrorist sites along the Afghan border, reportedly killing more than 28 militants.