ISLAMABAD, JUL 12 (DNA) — Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist Muhammad Tariq Rafiq, believed to be responsible for the 2021 Dasu attack, has been killed in Afghanistan’s Kunar. The death of Tariq was announced by Radio Pakistan on Wednesday.

Tariq, who is a member of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, is the main brains behind the suicide bombing that killed nine 13 people including Chinese workers near Dasu hydropower plant in the Upper Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on July 14, 2021.

It is being reported that Rafiq, also known as Button Kharab, was killed near Paich Dara, Kunar Province, Afghanistan. At least three Pakistani employees and 10 Chinese engineers were on board the bus when it crashed into a deep ravine following an explosion. They were headed to the Dasu Hydro Power Project construction site.

The suicide explosion that murdered 13 persons, mainly Chinese labourers, near the Dasu hydropower project in the Upper Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on July 14, 2021, was planned mainly by Tariq, a TTP member.

According to the Foreign Office, the network involved in the terrorist attack was supported and facilitated by RAW-NDS nexus in Afghanistan. The planning for the terrorist attack was done in Afghanistan, with the provision of material support as well. The vehicle used in VBIED attack was brought from Afghanistan to Pakistan, stated FO.

The suicide bomber, Khalid Sheikh, was trained in Afghanistan and brought to Pakistan to carry out the attack. Last year, an anti-terrorism court in Abbottabad handed over death sentences to two accused in Dasu Hydro Power Project (DHPP) terrorist attack case, which killed 13 people, including nine Chinese workers.

The anti-terrorism court handed over death sentences on 13-counts to each of two accused – identified as Muhammad Hasnain alias Zawan Mama and Muhammad Ayaz alias Janbaz – in Dasu terror attack. — DNA