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Military admits bomber mistakenly flew nukes across country WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A B-52 bomber mistakenly carried six nuclear warheads on air-launched cruise missiles on a flight from North Dakota to Louisiana last week, prompting a major investigation, military officials have confirmed. The plane took the cruise missiles last Thursday from Minot Air Force Base to Barksdale Air Force Base for decommissioning, but the warheads should have been removed from the missiles before they were attached to the B-52, according to military officials. The crew was unaware that they were carrying nuclear weapons, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the extraordinary sensitivity and security surrounding the case. The mistake was discovered after the plane's six-hour flight to Louisiana. Lt. Col. Ed Thomas said that while the military does not publicly discuss nuclear weapons procedures, in this case the Air Force decided to acknowledge the incident in order to reassure the public. "The public was never in any danger," Thomas said. But officials also said the incident was a major breach of security rules surrounding nuclear weapons. One Air Force official said that he could not recall anything similar happening. The Air Force announced that all flights of fighters and bombers in the United States will be halted on Sept. 14 to allow for a review of procedures. --From Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr (Posted 11:56 a.m.)