Android Studio error <item> inner element must either be a resource reference or empty

Question

I saw so many same questions out there about this issue, but I really have no idea how to fix this autogenerated file. Any inputs would be truly appreciated.

When I delete the following code, in \transformed\appcompat-1.6.1\res\values\values.xml:174:4: the next line will be pointed--and an endless loop results. I tried to remove appcompat library (ver 1.6.1), removing its dependencies, but that did not work. Thank you for your help.

[mergeFullDebugResources FAILED]
Task :Sample:mergeFullDebugResources FAILED
C:\Users\your-name\.gradle\caches\transforms-3\80843a72ef17e452127e086c8ed98a4b\transformed\appcompat-1.6.1\res\values\values.xml:174:4: <item> inner element must either be a resource reference or empty.

[values.xml]   <item name="progress_horizontal" type="id"/> causes the error 

[strings.xml]
`<resources>
  <string name="app_name">Sample</string>
  <string name="sample_message">Sample Message</string>
  <string name="hint_message">Enter Your Message</string>
  <string name="desc_img">Button Image</string>
</resources>`

[ids.xml]
`<resources>
    <item name="speechBubble" type="id">1</item>
    <item format="float" name="disabled_alpha_material_dark" type="dimen"/>
    <item name="progress_horizontal" type="id"/>
</resources>`



I changed contents of stings.xml, adding the item in values.xml. In the same way,
 I made an attempt to change ids.xml based on suggestions found in this platform. 
Finally, I tried to remove appcompt library, but that did not work as well. 
I can sync, clean the project, invalidate caches & restart, and still cannot rebuild it. 
MinSDK=22, compileSDK=33, targetSDK=33 Gradle ver = 8.3, Android Studio 3.1
Thank you for your help.