BAGHDAD, Oct 24: Three suicide bombers staged a coordinated attack on a Baghdad hotel complex used by foreign journalists on Monday, killing 15 people. In northern Iraq, guerillas attacked key oil infrastructure and gunned down 12 building workers, contributing to a complete halt of oil exports.

The coordinated attack in the capital, at dusk in front of rolling television cameras and guaranteed global media coverage, broke a relative lull in violence over the past two weeks.

Witnesses and police said one of the first two bombers slammed a car into defences around the concrete towers of the Palestine and Sheraton hotels, blasting a path for a third in a cement truck; it exploded beside a US Bradley armoured vehicle on guard duty, sending up flame and smoke.

There were no initial reports of US military casualties, a spokesman said. Recent media reports have focused attention on the fact that the US death toll in Iraq is just three short of the headline figure of 2,000.

A US military statement gave a different account, saying a combination of rockets and car bombs targeted the hotels.

The explosions, spaced over several minutes as people prepared for iftar, made for instantly replayed footage for cameras, which were trained on the area after the first blast and hence perfectly placed for subsequent detonations.—Agencies