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ByQassimAbdul-Zahra and Sameer N. Yacoub The Associated Press TIKRIT, IRAQ The U.S. has failed to live up to its prom- ises to help Iraq fight Is- lamic State extremists, un- like the "unconditional" assistance being given by Iran, the commander of Iraq's Shiite militias alleged Friday. In a battlefield interview near Tikrit, where Iraqi forces are fighting to retake Saddam Hussein's home- town from the militants of the so-called Islamic State, commander Hadi al-Amiri criticized those who "kiss the hands of the Americans and get nothing in return." Iraqi forces entered Ti- krit for the first time Wednesday from the north and south. On Friday, they waged fierce battles to se- cure the northern neigh- borhood of Qadisiyya and lobbed mortar shells and rockets into the city cen- ter, still in the hands of IS militants. Iraqi military of- ficials have said they ex- pect to reach central Tikrit in two to three days. The Iranian-backed Shi- ite militias have played a crucial role in regaining territory from the Sunni ex- tremists of the Islamic State group, supporting Iraq's embattled military and po- lice forces. An Iraqi government of- ficial told The Associated Press that Iran has sold Baghdad nearly $10 bil- lion in arms and hardware, mostly weapons for urban warfare like assault rifles, heavy machine-guns and rocket launchers. The offi- cial spoke on condition of anonymity. In November, President Barack Obama authorized the deployment of up to 1,500 more U.S. troops to bolster Iraqi forces, which could more than double the total of American forces in Iraq to 3,100. The Penta- gon has made a spending request to Congress of $1.6 billion, focusing on train- ing and arming Kurdish and Iraqi forces. According to a Pentagon document prepared in November, the U.S. is looking to provide an estimated $89.3 million in weapons and equipment to each of the nine Iraqi bri- gades. The U.S.-led coalition of eight countries has launched more than 2,000 airstrikes in Iraq alone since August 2014, and the U.S. is also hitting the militant group from the air in Syria. Iraqi and U.S. officials have acknowledged the role air- strikes have played in roll- ing back the militants, say- ing the air campaign was an essential component in vic- tories at the Mosul Dam, in Amirli, and more recently, in the crucial oil refining town of Beiji. But the U.S. is not taking part in the operation in Ti- krit, with U.S. officials say- ing they were not asked by Iraq to participate. Al-Amiri, the Shiite mi- litia commander who also is head of the Badr Organi- zation political party, said that "help from Iran is un- conditional." He warned that Iraq should not sacrifice its sov- ereignty for the sake of re- ceiving weapons and as- sistance from the U.S., suggesting the Iraqi gov- ernment is taking instruc- tions from Washington. "Our sovereignty is more important than U.S. weap- ons," he said. "We can bring weapons from any country in the world." Separately, Grand Ayatol- lah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's top Shiite cleric, urged the gov- ernment to step up its sup- port for the Shiite militias and to take care of the fam- ilies of militiamen killed in battle. His remarks were relayed by his spokesman Ahmed al-Safi in the Shiite holy city of Karbala. As many as 30,000 men are fighting the extremists in Tikrit — most of them volunteers with various Shiite militias, Iraqi offi- cials say. U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey said Wednesday that up to 20,000 militia- men may be involved. Karim al-Nouri, a spokes- man for the Popular Mobi- lization Forces, the official name of the Shiite militias, said as many as 40 Iranian advisers are also taking part. ISLAMIC STATE Ir aq i mi li ti a le ad er h ai ls I ra n' s 'u nc on di ti on al ' su pp or t KHALIDMOHAMMED—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Members of an Iraqi Shiite militant group called Soldiers of Imam Ali Brigades launch rockets against Islamic State extremist positions in Tikrit Iraq, on Friday. By Jill Lawless and Karl Ritter The Associated Press LONDON Julian Assange and his supporters warily welcomed a surprise U- turn Friday by Swedish prosecutors, who now say they are willing to come to London to quiz the WikiLeaks founder over alleged sex crimes. The reversal, however, doesn't mean the anti-se- crecy activist will soon be leaving the Ecuadorean embassy in London, his home and prison for almost three years. Since 2010, Swedish prosecutors have sought to question Assange over sex allegations made by two women. Assange fought extradition through the British courts and, when that failed, holed up in- side Ecuador's small diplo- matic mission. British po- lice stand guard around the clock at the building, ready to arrest him if he steps outside. Assange denies the alle- gations against him, and be- lieves extradition to Sweden is merely a first step in ef- forts to remove him to the U.S., where WikiLeaks infu- riated officials by publishing secret documents including 250,000 State Department cables. Former U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning is serving a 35-year sen- tence for passing those doc- uments to WikiLeaks and the U.S. investigation into WikiLeaks is ongoing. On Friday, Swedish pros- ecutors reversed their long refusal to question Assange inside his London bolt hole, citing the five-year statute of limitations on some of the allegations against him. One of Assange's de- fense lawyers, Per Samuel- son, called the about-face "a great victory for Julian Assange," and indicated the 43-year-old Australian would likely agree to be questioned. "This is something we've demanded for over four years," Samuelson told The Associated Press af- ter speaking to Assange on Friday. "Julian Assange wants to be interviewed so he can be exonerated." Sweden ordered As- sange's arrest in August 2010. He has not been for- mally indicted, but he faces allegations of rape, sex- ual molestation and ille- gal coercion involving two women. The latter two al- legations expire after five years, rape after 10 years. Lead Swedish prose- cutor Marianne Ny said the looming deadline had prompted her change of mind. "My view has always been that to perform an in- terview with him at the Ec- uadorean embassy in Lon- don would lower the qual- ity of the interview, and that he would need to be present in Sweden in any case should there be a trial in the future," Ny said in a statement. "Now that time is of the essence, I have viewed it therefore necessary to ac- cept such deficiencies in the investigation and like- wise take the risk that the interview does not move the case forward." It was unclear how soon a prosecutor could come to London. Ny said she had asked Assange's legal team on Fri- day if she could interview him in London and have his DNA sample taken with a swab. She said permission was also being sought from Ecuadorean authorities. "We cannot say when we will go there," Rosander said. "We cannot make any guesses, because it depends on circumstances that are outside our reach. We need to get a go-ahead from the British and the Ecuadorean authorities." Britain's Foreign Office said it was "ready to assist the Swedish prosecutor as required." British officials would be overjoyed to see a resolution to the stale- mate, which has cost tax- payers 10 million pounds ($15 million) in police costs. Britain has previously said "voluntarily providing a statement or taking part in an interview are issues which should be agreed be- tween the Swedish prose- cutor, Mr. Assange and the Ecuadorean Embassy." CRIMINAL CASE Sweden offers to question Assange in London By Sarah El Deeb and Brian Rohan The Associated Press SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT Egypt raked in promises of more than $12 billion in investment and aid from its Gulf Arab allies on Fri- day, kicking off an interna- tional conference aimed at rescuing the country's gut- ted economy and giving a political boost to its soldier- turned-president. The three-day gather- ing in the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is meant to show the world Egypt is open for business again to draw investors after four years of instability and tur- moil that followed the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that ousted longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. President Abdel-Fattah el- Sissi made his case for the world's support, depicting Egypt asvitaltoregionalsta- bility and a bulwark against Islamic militancy. "Egypt has and will al- ways be the first line of de- fense against the dangers faced by the region," el- Sissi, wearing a dark suit and a purple tie, said to one of many rounds of ap- plause that interrupted his 26-minute address. Some 1,500 delegates from more than 50 nations were in at- tendance. The gathering of royals, heads of state, top inter- national officials and busi- nessmen was also an oppor- tunity for el-Sissi to put be- hind him criticism over the military's 2013 ouster of Egypt's elected president, Islamist Mohammed Morsi. Since the ouster — which was led by el-Sissi, then head of the military — the government has cracked down hard on Morsi's Mus- lim Brotherhood and other Islamists, with hundreds killed and thousands im- prisoned. It has also tar- geted secular and liberal activists. 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