Reporting from Maiduguri, Nigeria — Nigeria's "Taliban," named for its heroes in a far-off land, could provide willing recruits for attacks on American targets, one of the group's leaders boasted in a rare interview that had the trappings of a spy novel.

With equal parts bluster and chilling resolve, the slight 30-year-old explained why the militant Islamic group that set up its own "Afghanistan" base in northern Nigeria wants to shift its focus from domestic targets.

"The U.S. is the major target because it's the major aggressor against Muslims throughout the world," said the young man, who wore a bottle-green caftan and gave his name only as Musa. "America is the main aggressor, and I believe all these attacks against America are divine worship."

He gazed straight ahead as he spoke, never meeting the eyes of his interviewer.

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