WASHINGTON: The United States has warned countries against supportingnon-state actors and terrorist groups trying to obtain or employ nuclearweapons.

“The US will hold accountable any state or non-state actor that supportsterrorist efforts to obtain or employ a nuclear weapon,” under secretary ofstate for political affairs, Tom Shannon, told reporters at a Pentagon newsconference where the Trump administration rolled out its 2018 NuclearPosture Review (NPR).

Neither Shannon nor the NPR report, running into 100 pages, identified anycountry which could be seen aiding terrorist groups in this regard.

Shannon said that nuclear terrorism remained a major threat in the 21stcentury and countries need to work to mitigate it.

“The potential threat of non-state actors getting their hands on a nuclearweapon remains at the front of all of our minds,” Shannon told reporters.

Deputy energy secretary Dan Brouillette said the US will keep a close watchon nuclear proliferation activities.

In a special section on nuclear terrorism, the report said the US strategyto combat nuclear terrorism encompasses a wide range of activities thatcomprise a defence-in-depth against current and emerging dangers. – INP