Australia lashed yesterday at WikiLeaks, calling it “incredibly irresponsible” for publishing a secret US cable detailing Australians with suspected links to Yemeni terrorism.

The whistle-blowing site’s latest batch of confidential and secret documents includes one from the US embassy in Canberra that recommends 11 Australians be placed on a no-fly list and a further 12 on another “selectee” watch list.

The cable, dated January 2010, names the 23, linking them to radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a US citizen believed to be a key figure in Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Canberra normally does not comment on material published by Wikileaks, but Attorney-General Robert McClelland broke the government’s long-standing policy to condemn the latest unredacted release.

“I note that on occasions in the past, Wikileaks has decided to redact identifying features where security operations or safety could be put at risk. This has not occurred in this case,” he said in a statement.

“The publication of any information that could compromise Australia’s national security – or inhibit the ability of intelligence agencies to monitor potential threats – is incredibly irresponsible.

“The government condemns the publication of any document that could seriously impact Australia’s national security.”

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, an Australian who has blasted Canberra for not doing enough to protect him amid the fallout from the leaks, swiftly hit back.

“Australian Attorney-General Robert McClelland bemoans having his department being publicly caught out ratting out 23 Australians to the US embassy without due process,” mr Assange, who is under house arrest in England, told the ABC.

“If Mr McClelland is unhappy about being caught out, perhaps he should consider cancelling my Australian passport again.”