Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak ordered to be freed and immediately placed under house arrest Hosni Mubarak has been immediately taken to an armed forces' hospital Sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for not stopping demonstrator deaths But court accepted his appeal earlier this year and then ordered a retrial Mubarak, 85, still being retried for complicity in the killing of protesters But he has already served the maximum pre-trial detention in that case Release plays to MB's claim that military wants to rehabilitate old order Deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was today released from prison and taken to hospital. The release of Mubarak from Tora jail in Cairo comes after a week of bloody turmoil in which Egypt's new army-backed rulers cracked down on ousted President Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. Mubarak was immediately taken to an armed forces' hospital north-east of Cairo, where he will remain under guard, according to remarks by his lawyer confirmed by medical and security sources. Out: Egyptian medics and military policemen escort former president Hosni Mubarak, 85, into an ambulance after after he was flown by a helicopter ambulance to the Maadi Military Hospital from Tora prison Moved: Egypt's ousted leader Mubarak has been released from jail and taken to a military hospital in Cairo Up in the air: Supporters of Mubarak watch as the helicopter carrying him leaves the Tora prison in Cairo Cheering: Supporters of Mubarak hold his poster to celebrate his release in front of the main gate of Tora jail The prime minister's office said 85-year-old Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for 30 years until he was overthrown in 2011 as uprisings swept the Arab world, would be placed under house arrest. That decision was made under a month-long state of emergency declared last week when police stormed protest camps set up in Cairo by the Islamist movement to demand Mr Morsi's reinstatement. About 900 people, including some 100 soldiers and police, have been killed in violence across Egypt since then, making it the bloodiest bout of internal strife in the republic's history. Mubarak's release will play to the Brotherhood's claim that the military is trying to rehabilitate the old order. The army-installed government casts its conflict with the Islamists as a fight against terrorism. In the latest violence, gunmen in a car killed an army major and a soldier in an attack on a patrol near the city of Ismailia on the Suez Canal, security sources said today. Two soldiers were wounded. To be freed: Supporters of Mubarak chant slogans in front of Torah prison where he is held in Cairo, Egypt Security: Girls walk past soldiers guarding Tora jail, where Egypt's deposed president Hosni Mubarak is held Old order: A defaced picture of Mubarak with graffiti saying 'Corrupt and deposed' along a highway in Cairo Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to prevent the killing of demonstrators. Mubarak is a man who destroyed this country. And now he's going to walk free?' Man outside Tora jail This week, two court rulings in separate corruption cases removed the last legal grounds for his continued detention. The ailing former air force commander will not be allowed to leave Egypt and his assets remain frozen. But Mubarak's imminent release has dismayed some Egyptians. Walled: Egyptian army soldiers guard Torah Prison, where Egypt's deposed president Mubarak has been held Joy: A supporter of former president Hosni Mubarak celebrates as she waits for his release next to Tora prison Watching: Egyptian army soldiers stand guard outside the Tora prison, where Mubarak is being held A man who said he was trying to find out if his brother, arrested on Saturday, was in Tora prison, said: "Mubarak is a man who destroyed this country. And now he's going to walk free? "Egypt is on the brink, and God knows where we are going," said the man, who would not give his name, but called himself a Morsi supporter - although not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. He was among about 75 people lining up at the prison gate in the heat to visit relatives inside. Across from the gate, a score of visiting relatives sat in the shade along a prison wall, waiting their turn. "We love Mubarak," said Mohamed Hussein, 36, who has no job. His sister Fatheya added: "Isn't it enough that for 30 years he did not drag us into a war, and let us live in dignity?"