A Belfast judge has ruled that two reputed leaders of the Real IRA splinter group are liable for damages to victims of the 1998 Omagh car bombing.

Justice John Gillen ruled Wednesday that evidence against Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly strongly linked them to the attack that killed 29 people - the deadliest blast in four decades of Northern Ireland bombings.

Neither man testified during the civil trial, nor were they present to hear the judgment. Their lawyers said they would pursue an appeal in the European Court of Human Rights.

The judgment represented the second chapter in the Omagh families' efforts to sue alleged Real IRA figures over the attack.

Murphy and Daly were found liable for the Omagh bombing in 2009 but successfully appealed that judgment.