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ABC apologizes for video wrongly said to be from Syria

In this Monday, Oct.14, 2019 photo made available Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, Turkey's forces advance towards Manbij, Syria. U.S. military spokesman says U.S. forces have left Kurdish-held town of Manbij, part of withdrawal from northeast Syria. (Ugur Can / AP)
Associated Press

NEW YORK – ABC News is apologizing for airing a video that it said depicted a Turkish attack on Kurds in Syria, but instead was taken at a military gun demonstration in Kentucky.

The brief footage was aired on “World News Tonight” Sunday and “Good Morning America” on Monday. The network said it “appears to show the fury of the Turkish attack.”

ABC says it relied on an outside source that it would not identify for the material. It gave no immediate explanation Tuesday for how it got through.

The mistake was first noticed by conservative media, which had suggested ABC was trying to make President Trump look bad. Trump has been criticized for withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria, enabling Turkey to attack.

ABC had no comment on the accusations.