A full-honours military funeral has been held in Egypt for the country’s former autocratic president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for decades before he was ousted in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that swept much of the region.

The funeral, replete with cannon fire and a horse-drawn carriage carrying his coffin, highlighted the wartime achievements of Mr Mubarak as the government bids to make his military career his legacy, rather than his time in office.

The 91-year-old died on Tuesday at a Cairo military hospital from heart and kidney complications, according to medical documents. He was admitted to hospital on January 21 with intestinal obstruction and underwent surgery, after which he was treated in intensive care.

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Supporters of Hosni Mubarak gathered at the cemetery where he was buried (Nariman El-Mofty/AP)

Egypt’s current President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, attended the funeral at Tantawi Mosque in eastern Cairo briefly, offering condolences and shaking hands with Mr Mubarak’s two sons, Alaa and Gamal, and his wife Suzanne.

Mr Mubarak’s body was later placed in a tomb a few miles away at his family’s cemetery in Heliopolis, an upscale Cairo district that was his home for most of his rule and where he lived quietly until his death.

A crowd of his supporters gathered at the cemetery, holding photos of the deposed president.

“We thank President el-Sissi for holding a military funeral for President Mubarak. He deserves it,” said Ahmed Salah, a 43-year-old businessman.

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Mr Mubarak was buried with full military honours (Hamada Elrasam/AP)

The country’s state television channel offered live coverage of the funeral, and played footage of Mr Mubarak in his younger, pre-office days. He was lauded for his role as a fighter pilot in the country’s 1973 war with Israel. As president, Mr Mubarak later solidified peace between the two nations.

Mr Mubarak, who held on to the presidency for more than 30 years, carried out a brutal campaign against Islamist militants, but also allowed for minimal political dissent from his opponents.

Under his rule, Egypt’s security branches grew into formidable forces with little civilian oversight, known for their human rights violations. And although he oversaw an opening of the country’s economy, much of the country’s population slid further into poverty during his time in office.

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Supporters hold photos of Hosni Mubarak before his funeral at Tantawi Mosque, in eastern Cairo (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)

Nonetheless, the former president still enjoys a degree of popularity among many Egyptians, who have painted him as a paternal figure. At the height of the 2011 uprising, his supporters would sometimes violently clash with pro-democracy protesters

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr el-Sissi praised Mr Mubarak’s service during the 1973 war with Israel but made no mention of his rule as president.