Armed attacks on the headquarters of two communes in Vietnam’s Central Highlands province of Dak Lak earlier this month are acts of organized terrorism, Major General Pham Ngoc Viet, director of the Department of Homeland Security at the Ministry of Public Security, said on Tuesday.

The attackers claimed the lives of nine people, injured two others, and took three residents hostage, Viet told the United Nations High-Level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States, which took place in New York from Monday to Thursday this week.

The deaths included secretary of the Party Committee of Ea Ktur Commune, chairman of the People’s Committee of Ea Tieu Commune, four police officers, and three residents.

The two injured victims are policemen one of whom is receiving treatment at the Central Highlands Regional General Hospital in Dak Lak.

The other has just been transferred to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for further treatment.

On June 11, two groups of people armed with guns and home-made weapons attacked the headquarters of the People's Committees of Ea Tieu and Ea Ktur Communes in Cu Kuin District, Dak Lak and local people.

The arrested suspects included a member of a U.S.-based organization. He received orders from this organization to enter Vietnam and stage the attacks, Viet revealed.

However, Viet did not disclose the motive for the attacks.

Major General Le Vinh Quy, director of the Dak Lak Police, on Tuesday informed that as of Tuesday, provincial police officers had detained 74 suspects for their alleged involvement in the attacks.

He added that the attacks were acts of organized terrorism, which were reckless, barbarous, and inhumane.

Vietnam strongly condemns the individuals and organizations who paved the way for, assisted, directed, and were directly involved in the attacks.

Vietnam calls on relevant countries and international organizations to support and cooperate closely with Vietnam in investigating the case and fighting similar acts.

“The fight against terrorism requires the joint efforts of the international community. Only through solidarity, cooperation, and responsibility sharing can we effectively address global terrorist threats and promote peace and security in each country and in the world,” Viet stressed.

At the conference, Viet also pointed out four external terrorism risks that may harm Vietnam’s national security.

He affirmed that Vietnam resolutely condemns and opposes acts of terrorism in all forms and supports counter-terrorism measures of other countries and international organizations in accordance with the United Nations Charter and international law.

Vietnam has neither experienced any terrorist attacks conducted by international individuals and organizations nor detected activities of their affiliates.

However, Vietnam has identified external terrorism risks, Viet added.

In particular, Vietnam has potential targets for terrorists, such as the headquarters of foreign diplomatic agencies.

The nation also faces the risk of the flow of Islamic State (IS) militants from the Middle East.

Terrorist and violent extremist groups are taking advantage of technology and social networks to spread extremism around the world.

As Vietnam has a massive number of Internet users, the country faces a heighted risk.

Vietnamese exile reactionary organizations and extremists living in other countries have taken advantage of ethnic and religious issues to expand their networks, train Vietnamese people, and detach their members to Vietnam to perform acts of terrorism.

These organizations have opened disguised offices and recruited and trained members in Southeast Asia, as well as used the Internet and social networks to incite and guide bad actors in Vietnam to carry out terrorist attacks on law enforcement forces and innocent people.

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