Khurram Sher, Hiva Alizadeh and Misbahuddin Ahmed have been charged in connection with an alleged domestic terrorism plot. (Sarah Wallace/CBC)

The three men charged in Ottawa in an alleged terrorist bomb plot have been described by family and friends as model employees and kind people.

Those who know the men say they never imagined they would be charged in a plot that sources say was targeting Canadian government buildings and transit systems.

But police, who raided homes in Ottawa and London, Ont., on Wednesday and Thursday, say the men posed a real and serious threat.

Police say they have seized more than 50 electronic circuit boards designed specifically to detonate bombs remotely. Police also seized a vast quantity of terrorist literature, videos and manuals.

Here's a closer look at the three men charged:

• Hiva Alizadeh immigrated to Canada from Iran about nine years ago, settling in Winnipeg. Read more.
• Misbahuddin Ahmed, a family man, worked as an X-ray technologist at the Civic campus of Ottawa Hospital. Read more.

• Khurram Sher, born in Montreal, is a graduate of McGill University's medical school. Read more.