A woman who was kidnapped in Afghanistan along with her husband has accused him of abusing her during their time in captivity.

American woman Caitlin Coleman claims her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle, physically and emotionally abused her during the five years they were held.

The couple were kidnapped by militants belonging to the Taliban-linked Haqqani network in 2012.

Their story hit the headlines last year when they and their three children, who were all born in captivity, were rescued by Pakistan authorities.

American woman Caitlin Coleman claims her husband Joshua Boyle, from Canada, physically and emotionally abused her during the pair’s five years as hostages of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network. (AAP)

Now she has claimed in court papers linked to the battle for custody of their children that her husband “regularly threatened to kill me by setting me on fire.”

According to the Ottowa Citizen he had “uncontrolled rage,” and “instituted corporal punishment of me, and struck me in a fit of rage.”

She also claims he hit her hard enough to break her cheekbone and told her ‘a husband who kills his wife is justified.”

American woman Caitlin Coleman claims her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle, physically and emotionally abused her during the five years they were held. (AAP)

He also confined her to a shower stall for months, she says.

However, Mr Boyle claims his wife had untreated mental health issues and once shoved him in front of a subway train.

He also claimed in court in papers that she neglected their children in captivity, and said he slapped her after she attempted to overdose.

Mr Boyle, 34, an aspiring journalist and Ms Coleman, 32, who worked at a restaurant, went travelling to Afghanistan. (AAP)

Mr Boyle was given a restraining order stopping him going near his family, with Ms Coleman given sole custody of the children, allowing her to take them to the US.

None of the allegations in the newly-revealed court papers have been proven in court.

Mr Boyle, 34, an aspiring journalist and Ms Coleman, 32, who worked at a restaurant, met online in 2002.

Caitlin Coleman and Joshua Boyle were kidnapped by militants belonging to the Taliban-linked Haqqani network in 2012. (AAP)

After marrying, splitting and then reconciling, they decided to backpack around central Asia – despite her being pregnant at the time.

Ms Coleman said Mr Boyle promised they wouldn’t travel to war-torn Afghanistan, even though that was his plan.

He has said he hoped writing a story in the county would help him become a journalist,

American woman Caitlin Coleman claims her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle, physically and emotionally abused her during the five years they were held in Afghanistan after being kidnapped (AAP)

It was in the country’s capital Kabul the couple were kidnapped after leaving a guesthouse in a taxi.

They spent five years held in 19 locations, before being rescued in 2017.

They even met Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on their return.

American woman Caitlin Coleman claims her husband Joshua Boyle, from Canada, physically and emotionally abused her during the pair’s five years as hostages of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network (AAP)

Mr Boyle was briefly married previously married to Zaynab Khadr, sister of Omar Khadr, who spent years at Guantanamo Bay, after being captured in Afghanistan.

Mr Boyle is currently on bail over charges including sexual assault.