Police hope an audio recording of a woman claiming responsibility for an assassination of a Turkish diplomat four decades ago in Sydney will help them solve the crime.
Sarik Ariyak, 50, and his bodyguard, Engin Sever, 28, were fatally gunned down outside a home in Dover Heights on December 17, 1980.
Detectives are still searching for clues on the cold case deaths, despite releasing a $1 million reward for information and conducting new searches in recent years.
Police have today released a phone call recording of a woman who called a media organisation shortly after the pair were killed, claiming responsibility for the assassination on behalf of the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide.
They are hoping the minute-long recording could generate new leads in the unsolved killings.
The woman states: "Turkish institutions are our target."
Investigators are also seeking assistance to decipher the words spoken after, "The authors of …" in the case they are of significance to the investigation.
The mass killing occurred in 1915 during World War I, when around one million Armenians were either killed or died from starvation or disease while being deported in mass marches.
Several governments, including that of New South Wales, have described the events as genocide, a claim that is disputed by Turkey.
Mr Ariyak and Mr Sever were leaving a residence in Portland Street, Dover Heights, in separate vehicles, when they were approached by two unknown men who fired several shots at close range before fleeing on a motorcycle.
Police said Mr Ariyak died at the scene and Mr Sever died a short time later at St Vincent's Hospital.
Following a review of the case, police divers combed the floor of Sydney Harbour in August 2020 for "items of interest".
No one has ever been charged for the crime.
The homicide is now being reinvestigated by the NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT), which comprises NSW Police, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the NSW Crime Commission.
Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Commander Assistant Commissioner Mark Walton asked people to listen to the recording carefully.
"While we continue this investigation, we suspect there are people who know exactly what happened that day but have not yet been willing to speak with authorities," Assistant Commissioner Walton said.
"We'd like to hear from these people as soon as possible, as well as anyone whose memory may be refreshed by the audio we've released, no matter how insignificant the information may seem, it could be invaluable to the investigation."
