UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Thursday strongly condemned the attack on an Afghanistan courthouse by Taliban forces that left more than 40 people dead.

In a unanimous statement, the 15-member panel said it “condemned in the strongest terms” Wednesday's attack in the remote western province of Farah.

Officials in Afghanistan have said Taliban gunmen went from room to room in the court building, shooting anyone they could found as they looked to free other insurgents facing trial.

Forty-six people were killed and around 100 people were wounded in the assault, the officials said.

The UN Security Council reiterated its “serious concern” at the threat posed by Taliban, Al Qaeda and illegal armed groups but pledged that the violence would not derail peace efforts.

“The members of the Security Council reiterated that no terrorist act can reverse the path towards Afghan-led peace, democracy and stability in Afghanistan, which is supported by the people and the Government of Afghanistan and the international community,” it said.