Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled in 2011 as part of the country's revolution, has died, according to state television.

The 91-year-old is said to have been in hospital for several weeks before his death, with his son Alaa tweeting in January about his father undergoing surgery.

On Tuesday, Alaa paid tribute to his father in another tweet, which read: "We belong to Allah and to him we shall return.

"He moved to Allah's mercy this morning, my father, President Mubarak. Oh Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him."

The Egyptian military commended the former air force commander as "one of its sons and war leader" in a statement.


Image: Mubarak was jailed for years after he was ousted

Image: Mubarak met with Margaret Thatcher for talks in 1985 - four years into his three-decade rule

Quoting his lawyer Farid al Deeb, the Egyptian Independent reported on Monday that Mubarak had been in an intensive care unit since last month after a bout of fatigue.

It added that he also suffered complications after undergoing surgery on his intestines.

Mubarak, known by his nickname as the modern-day "pharaoh", ruled Egypt as an autocrat for three decades from 1981, and was jailed for years after the Arab Spring uprising that ended his rule.

He was given a life sentence for the deaths of anti-government protesters at the heart of the revolution and was convicted in 2015 alongside his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, for embezzling millions of pounds from the state.

Mubarak eventually walked free in 2017 after being acquitted for the majority of his charges in a move that shocked Egyptians.

His sons were released in 2018.

Image: Mubarak speaks to reporters at Cairo airport after surviving an assassination attempt against him in Ethiopia

Image: Shimon Peres, as Israel PM, discusses affairs with Egypt's then-president Mubarak after an agreement about the Taba border

Before becoming the country's fourth president, Mubarak served in the Egyptian air force as a bomber pilot and notably as its commander during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

He went on to become vice president to Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated by extremists in 1981 during a military parade, and took the top job eight days later.

The brawny commander, who was subject himself to several assassination attempts - including in Ethiopia in 1995 - was known during his presidency for his opposition to Islamist militancy and his strong allegiance with the US.

He notably supported the US-led Operation Desert Storm to push forces under Iraq's Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.

Image: Mubarak was a strong ally of the US

Image: Hosni Mubarak with US President BIll Clinton at the White House in 1995

Mubarak was also widely recognised for maintaining an icy peacetime with Israel, and therefore reminded Egypt during his rule that the only option was to be governed by him - or chaos.

But the millions of people who saw to his demise during 18 days of huge protests in Cairo, perceived their president as one who had failed to address poverty and high unemployment.

They also demonstrated against corruption and rejected his autocratic governance.