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AAP
AAP
National
Maureen Dettre

Assassination of Turkish diplomat unsolved

Turkish Consul-General Sarik Ariyak, pictured, and bodyguard Engin Sever were gunned down in 1980. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

NSW Police are hoping a recording of a phone call will help solve a cold-case political assassination that took place in Sydney more than 40 years ago.

The force's Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command is appealing for information about the murders of a Turkish diplomat and his bodyguard in the city's east on December 17, 1980.

Turkish Consul-General Sarik Ariyak, 50, and Engin Sever, 28, were gunned down outside a Dover Heights home by two men who fired multiple shots at close range before fleeing on a motorcycle.

Strike force detectives have now released a recording of a phone call made to a media outlet shortly after the shootings.

In the recording, a woman claims responsibility for the assassinations on behalf of the 'Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide', saying the attacks were in retaliation for the injustice done to Armenians.

Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Commander, Assistant Commissioner Mark Walton, urged the community to listen to the recording.

"Identifying the female through her voice - or recognising any indecipherable words in the audio - will greatly assist us with this investigation," he said on Wednesday.

"We suspect there are people who know exactly what happened that day but have not yet been willing to speak with authorities," he said.

A $1 million reward is available to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the murders.

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