Thousands of supporters of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Sadr marched in Baghdad Saturday in a show of force.
Coalition troops and Iraqi police were deployed in the capital's Sadr City district as the protesters, carrying pictures of the cleric, shouted anti-coalition chants.
They denounced the coalition for shutting down the cleric's newspaper, which U.S. officials say incited violence. Demonstrators also protested the arrest Saturday of a senior Sadr aide.
There were reports late Saturday of two protesters being killed in the demonstration, which coalition officials did not confirm.
Also Saturday, insurgents killed the police chief of Mahmudiyah and his driver in the latest attack on Iraqi officials linked to the U.S.-led occupation. A rocket attack in Baghdad killed at least one person.