WESTERN DESERT , Iraq ( CNN ) -- The hot wind swirls around the human bones and cracked skulls that litter the forsaken desert lands in Western Iraq . The entrance to the bunker complex where al Qaeda terrorized enemies in Iraq . We are standing in the middle of what was an al Qaeda execution site , just outside an intricate bunker complex that the organization used to torture and murder its victims , the bodies left to rot or be eaten by animals . From the back of the police truck the opening to the first bunker is barely discernible in the distance . `` Al Qaeda came in as a massive force '' one of the officers says as we bump along the harsh terrain . `` They stole our cars , our personal cars . They kidnapped two of my brothers . They blew up the house over there . '' In the distance we can see his village -- a set of sand colored homes surrounded by parched farmlands . As we approach grubby children chase the truck and then stand to the side , despondent , as the officer points to their home . `` Their father was killed by al Qaeda , '' he says . In 2007 the U.S. military launched a series of airstrikes that drove out al Qaeda . As we enter the first bunker Captain Khaled Bandar tells us they found the floor littered with bodies . A gaping hole is evidence of the U.S. firepower . Insurgents used the layered and intricate labyrinth of passageways and hatches to carry out summary trials and executions . The police show us clothing and shoes , saying they are leaving them in place in case the families of the victims decide to come back . The stench of decay still lingers . Al Qaeda has been on the defensive in recent years , notwithstanding spectacular attacks attributed to the group like last week 's blasts in the capital , including suicide truck bomb attacks on the ministries of foreign affairs and finance . At least 100 people were killed and more than 500 wounded . But the concerted security campaign against the group has forced it to change its structure and strategy . According to one man who has close connections to al Qaeda in Iraq and asked not to be identified , the group lost support because it lost the protection of the people . `` There is an old saying about the basics of war . Whoever wins the people wins the war . So when al Qaeda did n't win the people over , it lost its battles , '' he explains . `` Al Qaeda 's strategy of taking control of areas has been abandoned for now . Their method is propaganda , instilling fear , terrorizing . '' He adds that the group stopped recruiting over the last six months because of a shortage in funding and increased infiltration . `` Al Qaeda is moving towards selecting the elite and condensing its forces rather than expanding . The Americans nearly defeated al Qaeda by cornering it and reducing its operations , '' he says . But those operations are still deadly , and the war is by no means over . `` No , the war is not over in Iraq , a type of battle is over , but there are new battles cloaked in politics . Now politicians try to pay militias , al Qaeda , or armed factions ... in order to eliminate political foes , '' the man with knowledge of al Qaeda says . And al Qaeda is still able to send a message to those who dare oppose them . The police officers show us blood stains in the desert near the bunkers and tell us how they found two beheaded bodies just a month ago . They were identified as being the brothers of two police officers from another city , Ramadi . Meanwhile , al Qaeda 's global war has sifted to a place it believes it can still win -- Afghanistan . `` Al Qaeda in Afghanistan is made up of true believers , those who believe in jihad and fighting , and that 's why they joined , '' the man with connections says . `` As for most of al Qaeda in Iraq 's members , they are just looking to benefit themselves , or they join out of resentment for a certain sect or to avenge their families . '' As for Iraq 's longterm stability , that very much still hangs in the balance . He says : `` Peace will not be achieved by a magic wand or the rhetoric of a politician . Peace will be accomplished through the will of the Iraqi youth . We have to wait for this generation to change ... so that a generation that hates ( the violence ) will emerge . '' Yousif Bassil and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report .
Abandoned al Qaeda in Iraq bunker base littered with bones of its enemies . Score: 6 Source close to al Qaeda says it lost in Iraq as it lost support of the people . He says al Qaeda 's focus is now Afghanistan .