The denial comes after the mother of one of the young men appealed for those behind the shooting to explain their actions and leave her family alone.

The woman, a former republican prisoner who did not want to be identified, said her son has been "terrified" since the car he was driving was fired upon by two masked gunmen on Southway shortly after 9pm on Thursday. One man armed with a handgun fired a shot through the passenger window, where a friend of the driver was sitting, while another man fired a shotgun at the drivers side window.

"I was on the 'phone to my son when it happened and I was terrified because I heard the shots. No one has come forward to admit responsibility for this or explain why my son is being targeted so they have no credibility. I have been told that the armed republican groups have denied it. This is just gangsterism and whoever did it is a danger to their own community. If they are claiming to be republicans they need to realise that actions like this are more like what the British Army did with indiscriminate shootings," she said.

The woman also said it is lucky no one was killed in the attack. "They fired into the passengers side as well as the drivers side so there could easily have been two people killed. My son has a three year-old child who is often in the car with him and it is only lucky the child was not with him when this happened," she said.

A spokesperson for the Real IRA who contacted the 'Journal' said; "We have carried out an investigation into these shootings and we can categorically state that there has been no involvement from any member of Óglaigh na h'Éireann. This young man is under no threat from us. Whoever is behind these attacks should come forward and explain their actions."