Syria's former political intelligence chief Rustom Ghazaleh has died nearly two months after being fired for quarrelling with another regime official, a source close to his family said Friday.

Ghazaleh, an ex-stalwart of the regime, had been in hospital since a dispute with another intelligence official early in March.

"He died at 7:00 am today (Friday) in a Damascus hospital and will be buried tomorrow in the capital," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.  Ghazaleh suffered from hypertension, but the reason for his entering hospital after the quarrel were never fully explained.