A Pakistani man is providing rare insight into what motivates terrorists to strap on bombs and blow themselves up.

Thirty-year-old Ahmed Khan was captured outside a U.S. military base just before he was able to detonate his suicide vest.

Khan told ABC News that he was poor and unemployed and that a mullah invited him to a madrassa or religious school.

He said the mullah told him to forget about a job, because he couldn't read or write. Instead, he told him he should be a martyr and enjoy the afterlife.

Khan said he's changed his feelings toward Americans. He finds them to be good people.

But Khan also said there are many others like him in Pakistan ready to become martyrs.