Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was buried on Wednesday following a military funeral ceremony held at the Mosheer Tantawy mosque in the capital Cairo.
Mubarak died aged 91 at a Cairo military hospital after undergoing surgery on Tuesday. The Egyptian government then declared three days of mourning following Mubarak’s death. Cannons designated to give the late leader a 21-gun salute were present at the mosque.
Mubarak’s coffin had been transported to the mosque by a military helicopter. The funeral ceremony focused on Mubarak’s military service where he famously served as Egypt’s air force commander during the 1973 war with Israel.
Mubarak’s coffin, draped in a national flag, was also carried by a horse-drawn carriage as a cortège led by his two sons and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi followed. Among other mourners present were generals, soldiers and religious leaders.
Mubarak was widely viewed as a war hero for playing a pivotal role in the 1973 war to liberate Sinai from Israeli occupation. He ascended to the presidency in 1981 following the assassination of Anwar Sadat, who had appointed him as vice-president six years earlier.
Mubarak then ruled Egypt for 30 years until he was ousted on in February 2011 during an 18-day uprising, which was part of the larger Arab Spring in the Middle East.
He refused all offers to leave Egypt to live in exile following the uprising.
Mubarak, along with his two sons and several political aides, was later arrested and sent to prison but was freed in 2017 after being acquitted of most charges.
