CHAMAN (Agencies) - A mid-level Afghan Taliban commander, whose fighters held two French journalists hostage for more than a year, said US overtures for peace talks were simply an attempt to divide Taliban. In a rare insight into the thinking of a Taliban commander, Qari Mahmud Mujahid said the United States was just trying to save face after battlefield losses. The blood of thousands of our Mujahideen is bearing fruit and now the US and its allies are begging us to help them find a respectable exit from Afghanistan, he told Reuters in an interview in the border town of Chaman. The United States is eager to stabilise Afghanistan as much as possible before the end of 2014 - when all Nato combat troops are due home - and has been stressing the need for all militant groups to pursue peace. Mujahid, a stern-looking figure who carries a US made pistol, is not part of the top Taliban leadership structure - he is a commander in Kapisa province, northeast of Kabul. But his views shed light on how mid-level commanders interpret the American drive for reconciliation.