MAKHACHKALA, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - The interior minister of the southern Russian republic of Daghestan was shot dead on Friday afternoon while at a wedding reception in the capital, Makhachkala.

"Daghestani Interior Minister Adilgerei Magomedtagirov died of gunshot wounds on the way to the hospital," an Interior Ministry spokesman told RIA Novosti.

A police source said that Magomedtagirov was shot by a sniper from the rooftop of a neighboring building when he and several other high-level officials walked out of the restaurant at approximately 1:00 pm [10:00 GMT].

Five Interior Ministry officials were hospitalized after the incident, including the head of the anti-tax crime department, Abduldzhapar Magomedov, the father of the bride.

There is no information on the survivors' condition.

Magomedtagirov was born in 1956 and had been the interior minister since 1998.