Suicide bomber kills security officer, wounds 19 in Beirut

Lebanese army soldiers secure a site of an explosion in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut June 23, 2014. REUTERS/Khalil Hassan

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew up his car in Beirut on Monday night near an army checkpoint, killing a security officer and wounding several people watching the soccer World Cup in a nearby cafe.

Security forces have been on high alert since a suicide bomber killed one person and wounded 37 near the Syrian border on Friday in an attack that narrowly missed Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of Lebanon's General Security department.