BAGHDAD - Iraqi government forces are ready to take charge of security in most of the country and would be able to cope if US-led coalition forces pulled out, Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki said on Thursday. “Iraqi forces are now capable of taking charge of security tasks in most of Iraq’s provinces and would be able to fill the vacuum if multinational forces withdrew,” he said, after receiving his Slovak counterpart, Robert Fico.US commanders are in the process of handing responsibility for security in Iraq to Maliki’s government forces, but expect to still be in command in the most violent areas around Baghdad into the early months of next year. One province, the sparsely populated mostly-Shiite region of Muthanna is already under complete Iraqi government control, and several more are slated to be handed over in the coming months.