Egypt held a military funeral in the capital Cairo's Al-Rashdan mosque on Saturday for former vice president and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman who died in the United States in the early hours of Thursday.

The funeral saw the attendance of head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Chief of Staff Sami Annan and head of the presidency chamberlain Major General Abdul-Momen Foda dispatched by President Mohamed Morsi, official news agency MENA reported.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri and a number of ministers also turned up at the funeral.

The funeral prayer was led by Egypt's Mufti Ali Gomma, while thousands of Soliman's supporters gathered inside and outside the mosque.

Suleiman, former intelligence chief, was appointed by Egyptian former president Hosni Mubarak on Jan. 29, 2011 as Egypt's first vice president in 30 years, several days before Mubarak's step down.

Suleiman was born in Egypt's southern town of Qena on July 2, 1936. He entered Cairo's military academy for studies in 1954 and then went to the former Soviet Union to receive military training.

Suleiman was appointed Egypt's military intelligence chief in 1989. Since 1993, he had served as director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Services.