Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wants his country's security forces to be solely in charge of keeping Iraq safe by the end of 2011.

al-Maliki told the Wall Street Journal is a two-hour interview that he wants American forces to exit the country on time.

He also promised that Iraq would not increase its ties with Iran, saying he would keep terrorism in check.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama administration appears on schedule to meet al-Maliki's demands.

A senior official in President Barack Obama's administration said Washington was "on track" to withdraw all its remaining soldiers in Iraq by the end of next year. That's the final milestone in the security agreement, following the reduction in American troop levels to below 50,000 in August and the pullout of U.S. soldiers from most Iraqi inner cities in June 2009. "The prime minister is exactly right," said the senior official.

Ten civilians have died this week in suicide bomb attacks and dozens of others have been wounded.