Writs served on Omagh relatives' behalf

Writs were served today on two men suspected by the families of the Omagh bomb victims of being responsible for the blast.

Lawyers acting for the Omagh Victims Legal Trust served the writs at the homes of the two men in Dundalk, Co Louth, at 6.45am.

Neither man answered the door, but one writ was handed to the father of one of them and the other was put through the letter box of the other's house.

The serving of writs is the first stage in a fight by the families to bring civil action after the authorities failed to charge anyone with the murders of the 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, with the August 1998 bombing.

Lawyer Jason McHugh was later on his way to Portlaoise Prison more than 100 miles south to serve writs on three more men who are being held there on unconnected matters.