New York Times journalists are in the city of Mosul to report on the battle there against the Islamic State.

MOSUL, Iraq — Any sense of normalcy on Saturday afternoon was shredded, again, when Iraqi soldiers began opening fire, their rifle barrels aimed at a white object in the bright blue sky.

“Tayara musaira!” someone shouted — a drone! Residents of eastern Mosul sprinted home, terrified by the latest attack by the Islamic State, and demoralized by the certainty that more would be coming.

Three weeks after Iraq declared the eastern half of this city liberated from the group, parts of the east bank of the Tigris River remain under siege. Residents say they are repeatedly targeted by Islamic State snipers, mortars and grenade-dropping drones that buzz overhead several times a day.