The UN Security Council on Saturday strongly condemned a terrorist attack in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, and expressed the 15 council members' solidarity with the people and government of Kenya.

"The members of the Security Council condemn in the strongest possible terms today's terrorist attack in Nairobi, which has caused numerous deaths and injuries," the Security Council said in a press statement issued here late Saturday.

The death toll in the attack by gunmen on a popular shopping mall in Nairobi on Saturday has risen to 39, according to Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The statement added "the members of the Security Council extend their condolences to the victims and their families, as well as to the people and the government of Kenya."

In the statement, members of the Security Council reiterate their determination to combat all forms of terrorism and the statement stressed that countries must ensure that measures taken comply with all their obligations under international laws.

The East African country has been scrambling with insecurity since October 2011, when the Kenya Defense Forces launched a cross-border incursion into southern Somalia in pursuit of Al-Shabaab militants.

The pursued militants had kidnapped several foreigners on the side of Kenya along the border, posing a serious threat to the country's pillar industry of tourism.

As to Saturday's incident, Somalia's militant group Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility.

The statement said "any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed."

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