WASHINGTON  - U.S. President Joe Biden thanked Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in a call for the country's "generous support" as Washington evacuates thousands of people from Afghanistan, the White House said on Friday.

Biden said the airlifts "would not have been possible without the early support from Qatar," the White House said.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Eric Beech; Editing by Sandra Maler) ((trevor.hunnicutt@tr.com; +1 646 223 7914; twitter.com/trhunnicutt; Reuters Messaging: trevor.hunnicutt.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))