General Ray Odierno told CNN that despite spasms of unrest over the past week -- notably a suicide bombing in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul that killed five US soldiers and three Iraqis -- "overall violence remains at 2003 lows."

March combat fatalities were "the lowest they've been since the beginning of the war," Odierno said.

He stressed however that the Pentagon may seek flexibility in meeting certain interim timetables for pulling troops out of Iraqi cities.

Under a security agreement signed between Washington and Baghdad in November under then-president George W. Bush, US troops will withdraw from Iraqi towns and cities by June 30, and from the whole country by the end of 2011.

"If we believe that we'll need troops to maintain presence in some of the cities, we'll recommend that, but, ultimately, it's the decision of (Iraqi) Prime Minister (Nuri al-) Maliki," said Odierno, speaking from a US base in Iraq.

Iraqi security forces, he said, "are proving every day that they are becoming more competent, so the decision will be made as how much of US forces are needed in order to continue to support them to keep the stability that we're starting to see here in Iraq."

Odierno also said that he was pleased with meetings he held with Barack Obama last week when the US president made a surprise visit to Baghdad.

Obama "understands, as he has stated, that there is still much work to be done here in Iraq," Odierno said.

"I believe he has given me the flexibility over the next 18 months in order to adjust the size of the force that I need in order to accomplish the mission," Odierno said.

The general expressed confidence that US troops would be out of the country by the last day of 2011.

When asked to rate on a 1-10 scale whether the deadline would be met, Odierno said "I believe it's a 10 that we will be gone by 2011."

"There has been a clear improvement of security here," Odierno added.

"The issue is, can we maintain that? Can the Iraqis maintain it? And that is what we're working through now (as) we want them to be able to maintain this stability as we pull out."

Meanwhile Iraq's national security adviser Mowafaq al-Rubaie, the country's top negotiator on the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement that set the timetable for US withdrawal, said Iraqi forces will be ready to take over security operations.

"The Iraqi security forces are leading and doing most of the combat operations now," Rubaie said on the same CNN program.

"Only the high-end very specialized counter-terrorism operations and some logistical support, some air fire support, some navy support, that is what we are requiring. And we are building these as we go along and in the next year or so, we will be in a position to take over ... security all over the country."

But he declined to address the "hypothetical question now" of how the government in Baghdad would react to any potential request by Odierno to stretch the US troop presence in Iraqi cities beyond the June 30 deadline.

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