Vietnam strongly condemns the recent terror attacks in Surabaya city of Indonesia, including inhuman attacks at three churches in the early morning of May 13 that left many civilians dead and injured, said the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang. 

The site of an attack in East Java province, Indonesia (Source: EPA-EFE/VNA)

Hang made the remarks on May 14 while answering reporters’ question regarding Vietnam’s response to the recent terror attacks in Surabaya city. 

“We extend our deepest sympathy to the Indonesian Government and families of the victims,” she said, noting that Vietnam supports the Indonesian Government’s efforts in combating terrorism and believes that masterminds behind the attacks will be punished properly. 

Also on May 14, President Tran Dai Quang and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc cabled messages of condolences to Indonesian President Joko Widodo over the recent terror attacks in Surabaya city of Indonesia.

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also expressed his sympathy to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. 

Earlier on March 13, a series of bombings hit three Christian churches in Surabaya, East Java province, leaving at least 13 deaths and over 40 others wounded.

Indonesia police announced later the same day that the bombings at three Christian churches were conducted by a family of six, including four children aged 9 to 18.

The family had links to the self-claimed Islamic State (IS) and were among 500 Islamic sympathisers who had returned from Syria, the police added.

Indonesian government believed that IS-related terror group JAD was responsible for the bombings. Meanwhile, IS claimed responsibility for the attacks through its Amaq news agency.

The suicide bombings were followed by a bomb explosion in an apartment building in East Java’s Sidoarjo town on May 13 evening, which killed a mother and her 17-year-old son.-VNA