Turkish special services warned their Russian counterparts and helped them foil a second terrorist act following the attack on the Crocus City Hall, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet said, Paralel.Az reports.

"Following the first attack on the concert hall, the terrorist group planned to commit another act of terror as they were plotting to attack a crowded shopping mall. Turkish intelligence thwarted this second major terrorist attack by reaching out to Moscow," columnist Hande Firat wrote.

The attack was being prepared by members of Wilayat Khorasan, which has links to the Islamic State terrorist organization which is outlawed in Russia, the newspaper said. According to Hurriyet, Turkish intelligence officers had long been tracking the activity of a local Wilayat Khorasan cell which they said was behind the attack on a Catholic church in Istanbul in late January. The special services contacted and interrogated a number of people before making contact with the Russian side.

Two of the attackers on the Moscow concert venue had visited Türkiye shortly before the attack, of which Russian law enforcement agencies were also informed.