Two of the men were sued both personally and as representatives of the RealIRA, the splinter republican group that had admitted responsibility for the atrocity.
That means damages could be sought from anyone who was on the council then, or from the RealIRA itself—a possibility the families’ solicitor said they would “pursue vigorously”.
Responsibility for the attacks was claimed by different groups. A phone call to a Dublin newspaper said the soldiers had been killed by the RealIRA, notorious for the Omagh bombing in 1998.